Kasabian doesn't like to be called indie rock, but that is how most people view them. The artist has the right of their intentions, of course, and maybe making Smiths-style indie was not what they set out to do. The listener, though, has a right to interpret the songs how they will.
This is pointed out as the backdrop for the Leicester lads playing two new songs on Saturday Night Live UK on April 4. The band's latest album, Act III, is due to be released on Friday, July 17, and the new tracks are from the record. If you like what you heard on SNL, you might want to test the new album, of course.
Kasabian has been releasing albums for more than 20 years now, so they obviously have a long-standing relationship with fans. That makes any new music they do have a higher bar of acceptance. Should fans accept the new tracks?
Kasabian bring two new songs to Saturday Night Live UK (but are they any good?)
"Release the Pressure"
If a longtime fan of Kasabian wondered aloud, "I wish my favorite band would make a dance track," then this is the tune for you. The problem is that the obvious attempt to do that doesn't give the track much weight. The only saving grace is the late-1980s-era Cure guitar sound that pops up here and there, but not nearly enough.
The track isn't heavy enough, and that is its real failing. Had the production been to show off Muse-like bombast, "Release the Pressure" would have been a winner. The song is too shallow to be worthy of multiple listens.
"Great Pretender"
The tune gets back to more straightforward rock, and it's good. Pizzorno's voice isn't ever going to mistake anyone for Thom Yorke's, but in this kind of musical setting, it doesn't need to. The guitar lead is jangly, and the rhythm section propels everything forward. Pizzorno is simply there to get the listener along for the ride.
The whole feel strains to be linked to Bruce Springsteen, with hints of "Born to Run" with the finishing cadence. And none of that is meant to be harsh. Kasabian comes close, and close is good enough.
Whether the band intended to bring forth images of the New Jersey great isn't known by those first hearing the song, and that doesn't truly matter. It's a good rock tune, and that's ultimately what the likely intent of Kasabian is.