Quick, Before It Melts.

The battle cry has gone out, and this time the guns are drawn and the boys in Kasabian are ready to draw first blood. Theuir new album, Empire has been living on my stereo for about a week steady now, having been temporarily lost in a sea of new releases as of late. But better late than never, I say. I wasn't a huge fan of their first album, with only the track "Club Foot" really sparking any excitement for me. This time out, though, there's an immediate sense of bombast and swagger as the title track marches in to it's own beat (and yet one that sounds so familiar I'm ready to go through my music collection song by song just to find its source). The boys have balls, that's for sure, but that's just surface; it's the dirty, gritty underlayer where these guys have really laid the groundplan of a unique and mesmerizing noise assault. Tempos shifts, keyboards sway, and the Chemical Brothers get a 2006 make-over as [MP3] "Sun Rise Light Flies," cresting the midpoint of the album, along with short, sharp "Apnoea" leave you breathless as you prepare for the descent to the end. There's releif in [MP3] "British Legion" as we hear the acoustic side of Kasabian, but soon you're headlong into closer [MP3] "The Doberman" (the track many have said is the album's highlight). As the howl of the hounds subsides, the horns kick in, and "The Doberman" marches out much like the title track marched in, this time with victory under it's belt.

Kasabian Contest

I've got some cool Kasabian gear to give away, namely the 10" vinyl version of the "Empire" single along with the CD version, and an awesome set of Empire playing cards modelled after the album artwork. To get it, just leave a comment to this post with your name and email address and teh answer to this skill-testing question: Name the members of Kasabian. Contest closes Friday, October 13, 2006, so it will be someone lucky day.