Kassassin Street - Talk In Riddles

We have very much enjoyed the output of Portsmouth band Kassassin Street over the last few months, so it's nice to see a new track from the band premiering. "Talk In Riddles" is perhaps one of the most electronic-sounding song the band have released to date, calling to mind some of the more electronic-styled songs of Bloc Party.

"Talk In Riddles" is taken from their "Radio Silence" E.P, which is out now.

Kassassin Street - Radio Silence

The last single released by Portsmouth band Kassassin Street, "To Be Young", was the group's most successful single to date, picking up a respectable number of Soundcloud streams and rode high on the Hype Machine, as well as getting playlisted on XFM. Having already been rather busy during this year's festival season, they are preparing for their biggest UK tour to date in October in anticipation of their debut E.P release, and have just released the first track to be taken from that release.

"Radio Silence" follows on from "To Be Young" both in sound and in tone, further sharpening their own brand of dark electro-psych rock. Their portfolio is growing stronger with every release. Here's hoping that the release of the E.P in October gives them the final push over the recognition parapet that they richly deserve.

"Radio Silence" is out now.

Kassassin Street - To Be Young

The last time we wrote about Portsmouth band Kassassin Street, we were getting very excited about their wonderful Top 20* hit "Centre Straight Atom". With yet another sold-out gig in their home town forthcoming, the band have just premiered a brand new single, for which they have enlisted the assistance of Frank Turner's producer (Tristan Ivemy) and Beck's sound mixer (Dan Grech).

"To Be Young" follows the example of their last single in its propulsive energy and its harsh, yet rather infectious rock style. It reminds us a little bit of The Maccabees in places, which is of course very rarely a bad thing. Although it hasn't hooked us in the same way that "CSA" did when we first heard it, "To Be Young" is still a very strong and very enjoyable addition to Kassassin Street's musical arsenal. One can only hope that they can start selling out venues outside of their current abode off the back of it.

"To Be Young" will be released on March 30th.


*well, by Top 20 we mean the top 20 of our favourite songs of 2014. But it still counts.

Kassassin Street - Centre Straight Atom

We first became aware of Portsmouth based 5-piece Kassassin Street back in June through their mystical, psychedelic single "The Royal Handkerchief Ballet". Having spent the summer honing their craft whilst playing at Isle of Wight Festival, Bestival, and other non-island related gigs, the band have announced the release of a brand new single, and it's a real corker indeed.

"Centre Straight Atom" tones down the more overt psychedelic sounds of their last single, and replaces it with a more electronic and, dare I say it, radio-friendly, core. It mixes electronic verses with powerful, heavy yet poppy rock guitars on its chorus to create something rather delicious indeed. Plus, it reminds us a little of local electro-rockers Not Squares, which is definitely no bad thing. Kassassin Street set the bar quite high with "The Royal Handkerchief Ballet", so it's great that the band have managed to well and truly smash that benchmark.

And on a final note, in our review of their last single, we had suggested that the band had named themselves after a village in Egypt. Many thanks to Robin at Breaking More Waves (who has also written about the band) for pointing out that Kassassin Street is the name of a road in the Eastney district of Portsmouth. We guess that makes a bit more sense.

"Centre Straight Atom" will be released as a single on November 10th.

Kassassin Street - The Royal Handkerchief Ballet

Fun fact - Kassassin is the name of a village in Egypt, 22 miles west of the Suez Canal. Whether or not this is the origin of the name for Portsmouth band Kassassin Street I have no idea, but for the sake of argument, let's assume it is.

Their debut single, "The Royal Handkerchief Ballet", has already received mighty praise, both from the NME and fellow Portsmouthian Breaking More Waves, and listening to the song it's easy to hear why it comes much beloved. The song is built around an Arabian-sounding guitar riff,with its foundations being firmly rooted in the sounds of 90s indie-rock. It sounds like it meets somewhere in the middle between Kula Shaker and Kasabian, and unlike many bands that have adopted the generic tag recently, it really does have a real psychedelic feel to it - listen to it in the right (or wrong) mindset, and you might find yourself hypnotised.

"The Royal Handkerchief Ballet" is out now.