They live together in a commune. They are named after a member of the Manson Family. And they are a decidedly scruffy and hippiefied lot.

But if that makes you take U.K. buzz band Kasabian for a bunch of '60s-acid rock holdovers, prepare to be disappointed. Or pleasantly surprised, depending on your view.

On their debut disc, this Leicester quartet make it clear they owe more of a psychic, karmic and sonic debt to the Madchester sound of Happy Mondays than to The White Album. This eclectic 10-song set is driven by funky beats and dark head-nodding grooves, fuelled by big guitars and hooky melodies, and topped with squiggly synths. Essentially it's Britrock, but with enough druggy dashes of electronica, house, psychedelia and prog tossed into the pot to give the gumbo a distinct flavour and a trippy effect.

That doesn't really justify their status back home as this week's Most Important Band Ever, but it does make them worth a listen.

Track Listing:

1. Club Foot
2. Processed Beats
3. Reason Is Treason
4. I.D.
5. Orange
6. L.S.F. (Lost Souls Forever)
7. Running Battle
8. Test Transmission
9. Pinch Roller
10. Cutt Off
11. Butcher Blues
12. Ovary Stripe
13. U Boat