The words "next big thing" used to mean something in the music industry. Lately, it seems, it's just a label most bands carry along as luggage from overseas.

However it would be untrue to say that Europe hasn't put out its fair share of quality musical exports recently. It has, as can be seen in the painfully debonair new wave pop rock of Franz Ferdinand, the shameless egotism and flamboyant garage rancor of the Hives or the somberly atmospheric sob rock of Coldplay. But aside from the handful of bands that actually make it in the States, there's a trail a mile long of bands trying to squeeze through the door.

Enter Kasabian, the latest of the art rock class of 2005 trying to make a go of it outside of their native United Kingdon. Its self titled debut (which cashed in at No. 4 in the United Kingdom upon its release back in September) would appear to have all the necessary prerequisites for cutting to the front of the line with the rest of the progressive rock elite, including everything from their shag mop cuts — what band nowadays is complete without them — to their futuristic dabblings in loops and samples. The opening track "Club Foot" opens with a bass line that calls to mind early Chemical Brothers, crashing over a wave of technical drum work and synthesizers. "Reason is Treason," with its deliberately under-dubbed sound and echoed vocals feels as though it would be a suitable fit on the latest Strokes effort, whereas the computer driven intro to "I.D." is a throwback to the Who's "Baba O'Riley."

Ok, quick recap. So far we've got electronica, garage rock revival and early 70s classic rock. What does it spell out? Confusion. Here's a band that clearly has a lot of diverse and eclectic musical references to draw from, at least that's what they want you to think. The problem is there's nothing holding the record's vastly different styles together in the middle. Front man Tom Meighan's whiny vocals relegate him to the role of a second rate Liam Gallagher, if nothing else, while the rest of the record sounds overindulgent and carelessly constructed.

The bottom line is Kasabian's debut speaks of a band with a severe case of identity crisis on its hands. They want to be DJ Shadow, Oasis, Iggy and the Stooges and so many other acts all at once. The problem is that while all those acts had an irrefutable sense of self and musical direction, Kasabian is lost at sea. It's ambitious, and maybe it deserves an 'A' for giving it the old college try, but if its first outing proves anything, it's that it's got a ways to go before it reaches the top of the charts.

Grade: C

This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on April 7 2005.