Kasabian - Empire

The good looking lads from Leicester follow-up to an eponymous debut that carved out a trademark sound of resonating bass lines lashed to a driving beat.
If anything, rather than demonstrating that they're about to build an empire, Empire shows Kasabian's limitations. There's nothing really wrong with this offering but neither does it advance the cause. Indeed, this could all be a regressive move. There are still tunes that make you want to dance (Shoot The Runner, which is unmistakably Spirit in the Sky for a new generation), there's still a hint of Primal Scream, Ian Brown and overdriven Oasis on several tunes, there's still a lot of promise. Yet the tunes are even more derivative than the last batch - every song has a hint of something else about it (Sunrise is Tomorrow Never Knows, Doberman is, rather disappointingly, All You Good Good People mashed with Back Off Boogaloo). Meanwhile, the ballad British Legion, which at least is an attempt at changing pace rather dramatically, sounds like a demo recorded in a dustbin. Decent, then, but far from great.