Kasabian Vow to ‘Save’ Guitar Music with Their New LP

For most bands, just scoring a hit record is hard enough, but Kasabian have altogether loftier goals for their next LP.

As guitarist Serge Pizzorno recently told Q (via NME), the group's new album — due out sometime later in 2017 — is out to rescue an entire genre from its recent commercial doldrums. "It’s about saving guitar music from the the abyss! Because it’s gone," argued Pizzorno. "They’re great songs to sing."

Frontman Tom Meighan opened up to the magazine about his "s--- 2016," which included the end of a relationship and a death in his social circle. Saying the new songs are "made for him," Pizzorno argued passionately on behalf of Meighan's status as the "the realest f---ing man there is" and a key ingredient to Kasabian's connection with their fans.

"His heart is on his sleeve and he can get hurt, because he’s so open," said Pizzorno. "That’s why people relate to him. He can stand in front of a hundred thousand people and they come away feeling not so alone, they’ve connected with this man who can show them their pain and their euphoria. It’s powerful, do you know what I mean? We’re real. Especially Tom."

Pizzorno's comments about saving guitar rock echo statements he made last year regarding a return to the group's roots — and as NME goes on to note, he's gone on the record before about making a concerted effort to explore more back-to-basics territory after their last album, the relatively experimental 48:13.

"We always react against our previous work. I did massively experimental synth work on the last record so I just looked at my Rickenbacker in the corner of the studio and thought ‘that’s what I’m gonna do,'" recalled Pizzorno. "I just started smashing tunes out on that."

How Alternative Rock's Biggest Bands Got Their Names