Artist – Album: Kaiser Chiefs – Off With Their Heads
Released: 20th October 2008
Sounds Like: The Kaiser Chiefs, with added muscle.
The biggest challenge facing the Kaiser Chiefs
after their stupendous debut album Employment, and its accompanying singles ‘I Predict a Riot’, ‘Oh My God’ and ‘Every Day I Love You Less and Less’, was
following it up with a release that was progressive enough to avoid accusations
of one-trick-pony-ism but still punchy enough to satisfy their stadium filling,
largely lager-fuelled fanbase. That test was passed with flying colours with
the anthem ‘Ruby’, but then the Leeds
lads took their collective eye off the ball with its weak parent album Yours
Truly, Angry Mob. It looked at that point like the Chiefs may have been
succumbing to the law of diminishing returns and, as Apollo 440 so nearly sang,
“stop the rot, can’t stop the rot”. Drastic measures would have to be taken if
Off With Their Heads wasn’t going to be another disappointment.
To that end, they enlisted the man of the moment
Mark Ronson and a bevy of his mates (Lily Allen sings backing vocals on ‘Always Happens Like That’ and ‘Never Miss a Beat’, and the rapper Sway
proffers an odd verse to the unsuccessful ‘Half
the Truth’) to reinforce their admittedly handy pop rock songs. The result
is a mixed bag, but overall I’d say it’s a success. The lead single ‘Never Miss a Beat’ is old hat for the
Yorkshire quartet and just a bit boring, but the likes of ‘Always Happens Like That’ and ‘Addicted
to Drugs’ are enjoyably atypical. ‘Like
It Too Much’ is a brilliant effort at XTC-esque New Wave, whilst album
closer ‘Remember You’re a Girl’ is a
surprisingly mellow ballad.
The birds were circling in 2008, but Off With Their
Heads should have done enough to shoo them away for a little longer. In actual
fact it didn’t, but I wouldn’t say that that’s the boys fault. It seems the
public had already sentenced them to the guillotine...
Albumaday... rating: 6/10
1. Spanish Metal – 2:19
2.
Never
Miss a Beat – 3:08
3.
Like It
Too Much – 3:23
4.
You
Want History – 3:45
5.
Can’t
Say What I Mean – 2:49
6.
Good
Days Bad Days – 2:53
7.
Tomato
in the Rain – 3:51
8.
Half
the Truth – 3:44
9.
Always
Happens Like That – 3:12
10. Addicted to Drugs – 3:53
11. Remember You’re a Girl – 2:37
Listen to ‘Like It Too Much’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNfzL9Xkm1g
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| Also released on 20th October: 2008: Imelda May - Love Tattoo |
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