Black Onassis

Having left Kasabian before the band reached their commercial peak you might think that guitarist Chris Karloff is a touch bitter. But although he says it was a 'kick in the teeth' to leave the band in 2006, he now seems to ready to move on and put it all behind him. For Black Onassis, Karloff joins forces with New York's Nick Forde on bass and keyboard, as well as a host of guest vocalists, including Liela Moss from The Duke Spirit and Morgan Kibby of M83.

It is an exhilarating high energy fuzz of dance rock, that is quite a few beats away from Kasabian's lad-rock - and it more than raises a finger to his former band-mates who are still stuck in the mid to late nineties. Taking inspiration from the likes of Parisian house, krautrock and trance - Desensitized is about as far removed from his former band as he could have hoped - and that was obviously his intention.

"Electronic music to me is surprisingly soulful, there is a warmth that comes from the simplicity of sounds, something inconspicuously expressive and emotional", Karloff says, adding that he grew up listening to the likes of Vangelis, Kraftwerk, The Prodigy and Tangerine Dream - and there are tiny moments where each of those can be pinpointed here.

Trip B's anthemic feel - is as commercial as it gets, while Brain (featuring Ben Gautrey of Cooper Temple Clause) has elements of the Stone Roses at their best - and is the best thing here. With a range of vocalists used, you might have expected a slightly more disjointed feel to Desensitized, but impressively Karloff and Forde knit it altogether - and although the intensity and to some extent, the novelty, wares off a little towards the end, this is a welcome and surprising return.