West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum
| West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum | ||||||||||
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| Studio album by Kasabian | ||||||||||
| Released | 5 June 2009 | |||||||||
| Recorded |
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| Length | 51:59 | |||||||||
| Label | RCA, Paradise | |||||||||
| Producer | Dan the Automator, Sergio Pizzorno | |||||||||
| Kasabian chronology | ||||||||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Aggregate scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 68/100 |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| Drowned in Sound | (5/10) |
| The Guardian | |
| The Independent | |
| NME | 8/10 |
| Pitchfork Media | 4.9/10 |
| PopMatters |   |
| Rolling Stone |  |
| Spin | |
| Uncut | |
West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum is the third studio album by British indie rock band Kasabian, which was released on 5 June 2009. It is also the first album by the band to not feature Christopher Karloff, the band's leading songwriter, following his departure during the writing stages of Kasabian's second album, Empire (2006). Lead guitarist Sergio Pizzorno took over as the main force behind the band's song writing.
The album was nominated for the 2009 Mercury Prize. In October 2009, it was voted the best album of the year by Q Magazine.
"Vlad the Impaler" was made available as a free download from the official website from 31 March to 3 April 2009. The first proper, physical release from the album was "Fire", which was released on 1 June.Sergio Pizzorno has called the 52-minute album "the soundtrack to an imaginary movie." The album includes a duet, on the track "West Ryder Silver Bullet", with the actress Rosario Dawson. The album entered the UK Album Chart at No. 1, giving the band their second No. 1 album. "Underdog" has been used by Sony in a commercial for their BRAVIA Televisions.
The West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum was a group of mental institutions built in West Yorkshire, England in the 1880s. Sergio Pizzorno further explained the choice of album title: "The album isn't about the place, I just first heard about it on a TV documentary, and the words just struck me. I love the way it looked and the feeling it evokes. Apparently, it was one of the first loony bins for the poor, before that it was mainly rich people who got treatment." The album cover depicts the band "getting dressed up for a party at the asylum, looking in the mirror at the costumes". Inspiration for such cover originated from the artwork of Amon Düül II's album Made in Germany. In an interview with T4, the band said that each track is meant to represent an inmate within the asylum.
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