KAISER CHIEFS- OFF WITH THEIR HEADS

Down that Ronson-shaped rabbit hole is a creative dead-end for the Leeds mob


In interviews running up to the release of the Kaiser Chiefs album, producer wonderkid Mark Ronson was suggesting the forthcoming LP was “an eccentric record” and a real departure from what had come before.

A brave move indeed considering the success of the previous albums, debut Employment and winning follow up Yours Truly, Angry Mob producing hit single after hit single.

But sadly Mr Ronson is either a liar or completely deluded. Despite it’s great title, “Off With Their Heads” is a safe album that rather than pushing forward employs its reverse gear.

Lead single Never Miss A Beat was promising enough filled with witty lyrics that capture the zeitgeist (“What do you want for tea/ I want crisps”) paired with the sort of terrace chorus that the Chiefs do so well. It’s great fun, but its hardly the leap forward we were told to prepare for.

There are two other great songs on offer here, and they, along with Never Miss A Beat, come at the start of the album. You Want History’s use of synths get the heart pumping and is simply fantastic. Its end refrain of “If the girls start moving/The boys start moving/if the girls stop moving/the boys will stand still” will hopefully provide the album’s ubiquitous hit if released as a single.

Meanwhile, Like It Too Much is suggestive of the surge forward Ronson was talking about , by using the stirring 60s style strings of Bond producer David Arnold. With the lyric “You are decended from animals/and you are constructed of chemicals” putting the human race in its place, it’s the best track on offer here.

The rest of the album ranges wildly from forgettably average to absolute dirge. Opening track Spanish Metal is as stupid and tune-free as its title suggests. Half The Truth (with an embarrassing guest spot from rapper Sway) should be called Half-Hearted and drummer Nick Hodgson makes the mistake of taking the lead on closer Remember You’re A Girl.

Worst of the lot is Addicted To Drugs (“You might as well face it you’re addicted to drugs”- yes, that’s a Robert Palmer pun). Its chorus is toe-curling and its verses “cleverly” recycle Never Miss A Beat’s wit.

Talking of wit, the lyrics that hold it that were once a joy now just feel tired. They attempt to be meaningful on Tomato In The Rain, but the couplet “Like a beetle on its back/I’ve got to get back on track” will just produce a sorry sigh.

Comparing the Kaiser Chiefs to blur may be an old cliché, but it has to be done. If Yours Truly, Angry Mob was their Parklife, this is most definitely The Great Escape. However where blur went next was bold and exciting, so it’s clear a change is desperately needed. Sources suggest that this was originally meant as an EP. Maybe if they kept it like that things would be a bit sunnier.

2/5