Kasabian – The Alchemist’s Euphoria

Kasabian’s seventh studio album has a beguiling title and a cover of a melting polychrome space helmet. Their first release in five years, it is the first with guitarist Serge Pizzorno at the helm, which some have described as a “power grab”. Regardless of whether Pizzorno was really plotting behind the guitar, it doesn’t change the fact that former frontman Tom Meighan was sacked because of a domestic violence conviction, despite his girlfriend forgiving him and subsequently marrying him. It actually speaks to a wider and deeper problem within our society, namely how normalised and trivialised domestic violence can be. Maybe it was a one-off, people can change – but why is the responsibility on Kasabian and not Meighan to address his issues?

The band’s guitarist always wrote the songs anyway, so there is not a seismic shift, although there is more experimentation. The album opens with guitar and Pizzorno’s keening vocals on Alchemist. Second song Scriptvre ramps up the energy. Pizzorno addresses the politics of the band as he raps “Take ’em all on my own, like I’m Rambo / On a roll, gotta reach for the light / Gotta reach for the mic / As I walk from the shadow”. There are some slightly hysterical strings and a pounding chorus with the lyric: “Love is a fire, burns in everyone”. Rocket Fuel jumps around, vocals reverberating in an incendiary way, seemingly designed to hype up audiences at live shows: the chorus of “be my rocket fuel” could be a challenge to the audience.

There’s some of their trademark psychedelic aggression on the ridiculous Alygatyr, hooting and fuzzing itself through four catchy minutes. After this, the interlude Space marks a clear change of pace into a triptych of songs that take the listener into inner and/or outer space: The Wall, TUE and Stargazr. TUE has a lift-off in the mid-section that drifts into a dreamy instrumental which is a highlight of the whole album. Stargazr sounds like the Chemical Brothers, a looped vocal over a glittery beat. When it subsides into Chemicals, it feels like waking up from a dream. The record ends with the surprisingly affecting Letting It Go, with a Beatles-esque vocal and guitar riff.

Pizzorno doesn’t have the strongest voice and yet he creates a lot with what he has. It’s an interesting listen and like its title, it has moments of beguiling mysticism in amongst the lad rock. You could say he’s an alchemist with sound, weaving many different elements into ten tracks and two interludes. Kasabian may be played at football games to hype up the crowd but behind that is an introspective auteur. Being a psychonaut who likes to travel to the outer reaches of inner space, the psychedelia and experimentation could always have been pushed more. But there’s an authenticity to the creativity here that elevates the album.

Jessica Wall
Photo: Neil Bradford

The Alchemist’s Euphoria is released on 12^th August 2022. For further information or to order the album visit Kasabian’s website here. The album is available in Hi-Res on Qobuz and all the major streaming services.

Watch the video for the single Scriptvre here: