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Happenings (Kasabian album)

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Happenings
In rainbow block lettering with a contour at top, "Happening" centered, reminiscent of the 60s or 70s, while, in a smaller black angular font, "KASABIAN" above.
Studio album by
Kasabian
Released5 July 2024 (2024-07-05)
RecordedOctober 2022 – December 2023
Genre
Length28:00
LabelSony
Producer
Kasabian chronology
The Alchemist's Euphoria
(2022) 		Happenings
(2024)
Singles from Happenings
  1. "Algorithms"
    Released: 16 June 2023
  2. "Call"
    Released: 21 February 2024
  3. "Coming Back to Me Good"
    Released: 12 April 2024
  4. "Darkest Lullaby"
    Released: 21 June 2024

Happenings is the eighth studio album by the English rock band Kasabian. It was released on 5 July 2024 through Sony Music.

With a length of exactly 28 minutes, it is the band's shortest album to date.

Background and singles

[edit]

Kasabian announced Happenings on 5 December 2023, shortly after recording wrapped with two days left for the mixing process. Inspired by gigs of 1960s psychedelic bands, it was said to be a "joyous" album filled with "big tunes". The band started recording while they were touring their previous record The Alchemist's Euphoria in late 2022.[3] The album release on 5 July 2024 will coincide with their homecoming headline show at Victoria Park, Leicester on 6 July.[4]

The lead single "Algorithms", a commentary on the emergence of artificial intelligence, was released on 16 June 2023, more than a year ahead of the album release.[5] "Call" was released as the second single on 21 February 2024, a song the band referred to as "dance music".[6] On 12 April, they released the "summer-ready" "Coming Back to Me Good" in the form "of a short and sweet anthem" with a "disco drive" but also moments of "togetherness", according to Serge Pizzorno.[7]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic74/100[8]
Review scores
SourceRating
The Arts Desk[9]
Clash7/10[10]
The Guardian[11]
The Independent[12]
Louder Than War4/5[13]
MusicOMH[14]
NME[15]
The Observer[16]
The Telegraph[17]

Happenings received a score of 74 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic based on 13 critics' reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reception.[8] Mojo felt that "short it may be, but Happenings is full of ideas".[18]

The album's production was acclaimed; Neil McCormick of The Telegraph applauded the band's continuation of their pop sound.[19] Robin Murray of Clash praised the songwriting and new direction,[20] while Phil Mongredien of The Guardian said that "with Meighan gone, Happenings does at times sound like the work of a band struggling with an identity crisis and consequently cosplaying some of their peers".[21]

Track listing

[edit]

All tracks are written by Serge Pizzorno.

Happenings track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Darkest Lullaby"3:10
2."Call"2:30
3."How Far Will You Go"1:49
4."Coming Back to Me Good"2:49
5."G.O.A.T"3:07
6."Passengers"2:50
7."Hell of It"3:23
8."Italian Horror"2:35
9."Bird in a Cage"2:38
10."Algorithms"3:09
Total length:28:00

Physical editions include a short introductory instrumental track, "Happenings".

Personnel

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Kasabian

  • Chris Edwards – bass guitar, background vocals
  • Tim Carter – guitars, piano, bass guitar, drum production, background vocals, keyboards, additional production
  • Ian Matthews – drums, percussion, piano
  • Sergio Pizzorno – lead vocals, guitars, bass guitar, drum production, Mellotron, piano, synthesizers

Additional contributors

Charts

[edit]
Chart performance for Happenings
Chart (2024) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[22] 147
Japanese Digital Albums (Oricon)[23] 40
Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[24] 64
Scottish Albums (OCC)[25] 1
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[26] 90
UK Albums (OCC)[27] 1

References

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  1. ^ "Kasabian 'Happenings' : Album Review". Louder Than War. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  2. ^ Petridis, Alexis (4 July 2024). "Kasabian: Happenings review – pivot towards pop could almost be Coldplay". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  3. ^ Mensah, Jenny (7 December 2023). "Serge Pizzorno teases "joyous, big tune" Happenings album and "Kasabian happenings all over the world"". Radio X. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  4. ^ Maplethorpe, Dale (5 December 2023). "Kasabian announce new album Happenings". Far Out. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  5. ^ Singh, Surej (16 June 2023). "Kasabian highlight the differences between humans and AI on new single, Algorithms". NME. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  6. ^ Mensah, Jenny (21 February 2024). "Kasabian unveil dance-infused "Call" single share Happenings album details". Radio X. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  7. ^ Dunworth, Liberty (12 April 2024). "Listen to Kasabian's new anthemic single "Coming Back To Me Good"". NME. Retrieved 2 June 2024.
  8. ^ a b "Happenings by Kasabian Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  9. ^ Green, Thomas (3 July 2024). "Album: Kasabian – Happenings review – snappy but not quite where it wants to be". The Arts Desk. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  10. ^ Murray, Robin. "Kasabian – Happenings". Clash. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  11. ^ Petridis, Alexis. "Kasabian: Happenings review – pivot towards pop could almost be Coldplay". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  12. ^ Brown, Helen. "Kasabian review, Happenings: A resurgence that few would have expected". The Independent. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  13. ^ "Kasabian Happenings: Album Review". Louder Than War. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  14. ^ White, Chris (4 July 2024). "Kasabian – Happenings". MusicOMH. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  15. ^ Morgan, Tom. "Kasabian – Happenings review: concise, colourful affability". NME. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  16. ^ Mongredien, Phil (5 July 2024). "Kasabian: Happenings review – newfound concision and big choruses". The Observer. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  17. ^ McCormick, Neil. "Kasabian, Happenings: a psychedelic pop infusion that Dua Lipa could only dream of". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  18. ^ "Kasabian – Happenings". Mojo. August 2024. p. 83.
  19. ^ McCormick, Neil (5 July 2024). "Kasabian, Happenings: a psychedelic pop infusion that Dua Lipa could only dream of". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  20. ^ Murray, Robin (4 July 2024). "Kasabian – Happenings | Reviews". Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews & Interviews. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  21. ^ Mongredien, Phil (5 July 2024). "Kasabian: Happenings review – newfound concision and big choruses". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  22. ^ "Ultratop.be – Kasabian – Happenings" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  23. ^ "Oricon Top 50 Digital Albums: July 15, 2024" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  24. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot Albums – Week of July 17, 2024". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  25. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  26. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Kasabian – Happenings". Hung Medien. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  27. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
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