Empire

Lyricist: Sergio Pizzorno.
Personnel: Farhat Bouallagui (violin, viola); Jo Archard, Jasser Haj Youssef , Ezzedine Bouzid, Fiona McCapra (violin); Vincent Greene (viola); James Banbury (cello); Craig Crofton (saxophone); Gary Alesbrook (trumpet); Nick Attwood (trombone).
Audio Mixers: Andy Wallace; Barney .
Recording information: Rockfield Studios, Monmouth, Wales; Studio Davout.
Illustrator: Julie Verhoevan.
On its second full-length, the U.K. band Kasabian is at its most effective when it sticks close to Mickie Most-inspired pop gems like the title track and the monolithically rocking "Shoot the Runner" (the latter of which, perhaps uniquely in the modern rock canon, conjures elements of both the Fall and of Deep Purple). The Ecstasy-gobbling ghost of Madchester hovers over the swaying "By My Side," while the hurtling hallucinogenic high of "Aponea" is the realistic-sounding aural manifestation of a cracking night's clubbing. No wonder singer Tom Meighan sounds fashionably exhausted on the pretty, reflective "British Legion," which, with its mood of post-party ennui, is nostalgically reminiscent of mid-period Kinks.