West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum : Australian Tour Edition ［CD+DVD］

09年6月にリリースされたサード・アルバムにDVDが付いた、オーストラリア・ツアー・エディション盤が登場。CDには未発表曲1曲、リミックス・トラック3曲、ライヴ・トラック1曲を追加。DVDにはテレビのスペシャル番組の映像22分のほか、テレビからのライヴ・パフォーマンス2曲、5曲のPVを収録。
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Spin (p.91) - "Twitchy, action-movie atmospherics still galvanize the thrust of 'Fast Fuse' and lead single 'Vlad the Impaler.'" Uncut - 5 stars out of 5 -- "Kasabian's third sees their bounding riffs and rock-electro mixture still in evidence, not least in first single 'Fire,' but they've added extra tints and layers." Q (Magazine) (p.112) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[A] record that, though it charges at the listener like a rhino, does so while cackling joyously like a hyena."

Most Kasabian albums are bloated pieces of work, having been created by some of the most self-assured, loudmouthed rockers since the Gallagher brothers. West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum is more demented than outsized, however, replacing the ego rock of Empire with a barmy blend of electronics, acoustics, horror movie ambience, and industrial psychedelia. Producer Dan the Automator adds touches of hip-hop to the mix, too, highlighting the band's rhythmic base by stripping back the layers of guitar and synth samples. The result is an interesting, unexpected piece of work, devoid of a militantly commercial single like Empire's self-titled track, and lacking the shaggy Madchester vibes that Christopher Karloff brought to 2004's Kasabian. If the band's eponymous debut was the soundtrack to a drug-filled night in England's trendiest club, then West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum is the soundtrack to the subsequent walk home, when the club has kicked out its last patrons and the streets are dark and forbidding. There's enough psychedelia here to partially thwart the shadowy electronics -- for every "Vlad the Impaler," there's a trippy counterpart like "Secret Alphabets" -- and Kasabian often augments the new approach with old habits, like the dance-rock chorus that bisects the anxious, minimalist shuffle of "Fire." Most of West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum canvasses unfamiliar territory, however, a wise move for a group has routinely struggled to escape the shadow of its influences. ~ Andrew Leahey

UKを代表するマンモス・バンドとなったカサビアンが、プロデューサーにダン・ナカムラを迎えて新作をリリース。タイトルは〈精神病院のドキュメンタリーから名付けた〉とのことだが、なるほど退廃と夢幻がシンクロする不可思議な映画のサントラといった出来映えだ。彼らの真骨頂ともいえるドラッギーな“Underdog”で幕を開け、ガレージ・パンクやカントリー調のポップソングを経て、女優ロザリオ・ドーソンとの憂いを帯びた妖艶デュエットや大合唱必至のシングル曲“Vlad The Impaler”など中盤に大きな山場を用意し、そして美しくも儚いメロディーとコーラスが印象的な“Happiness”で終焉を迎える構成。闘争と逃走の間で揺れる人々に向けられた狂気のサウンドを、しかと受け止めてほしい。
bounce (C)柴田かずえ