Kasabian halfway through recording fourth studio album

Kasabian say they are almost halfway through recording their fourth studio album.

Lead singer Tom Meighan has revealed they're hoping to get the follow-up to 2009's West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum finished early next year.

He told Newsbeat: "I'm going to sing it in January then we're going to wrap it up and get back out on the road."

The band has already been confirmed as headliners at next year's RockNess and Isle of Wight festivals.

Kasabian say they started writing new tracks while on their 18-month world tour, which finished three months ago.

'Heartbreak track'

Before going back into the studio to record West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum the band took an extended break.

Tom Meighan says he doesn't have any worries about recording an album so soon after completing the long series of gigs this time round.

He said: "Serge [Pizzorno] called me a couple of weeks ago and said, 'Look, I've got these songs. Let's just get in the studio and do them'.

"I was like, 'Oh my god. That's the best thing I've ever heard'. Apart from the band having babies it's the best thing I've ever heard.

"We've done the drums. We've done like 40-50%, half of the record has been done.

"I think it's wonderful that we're making, not exactly a throw out record, but he'd written half these songs when we were on tour this year."

Beady Eye

Tom Meighan says the band has written its first "heartbreak" track and that the songs are shorter generally than they were on West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum.

He said: "I can imagine people breaking up to or making love to or getting married to [that song].

Kasabian won the best British group title at this year's Brit awards

"We've never had that kind of experience in our lives before which is wicked.

"Some of the songs on West Ryder were five minutes long but on this record it's kind of like a punk, Nirvana bang bang bang pop songs.

"Not pop songs but punk songs, three minutes, in and out. We've never had a record that's in and out."

Tom Meighan also revealed that he'd listened to part of Liam Gallagher's new material from his Beady Eye project in a hotel room about three months ago.

He said he liked what he'd heard, even though it was unmastered.

"I've heard Liam's record and it's fantastic," he revealed. "What he's doing is amazing.

"He was the frontman of Oasis. He's got nothing to prove any more. I love him and adore him but it's so not Oasis at all."