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kaiser chiefs
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by Rob Webb
  • Type: Album
  • Release date: 07/03/2005
  • Label: B-Unique
So, here it is at last. The Kaiser Chiefs’ debut LP, and whatever the relative merits of their name, it’s a bona fide pop classic.

With a guest appearance from Graham Coxon’s motorbike (a 1935 Kaiser ‘Chief’ 750cc Max TT Works Racer, no less), it’s also an album that’s proud of its roots.

Although said roots are firmly entrenched in British rock’s heritage, to dismiss the Kaisers as ten years too late would be folly. With nods towards the likes of Madness and a heavy smattering of keys, they’re more than a bunch of Britpop revivalists.

Whimsical numbers like ‘Caroline, Yes’ (with its Pet-Sounds nodding name) and ‘You Can Have It All’ are reminiscent of the Beach Boys, and will disappoint those expecting a slew of sing-along pub anthems in the same vein as ‘I Predict A Riot’ and ‘Oh My God.’ Needless to say, both of those hit singles are among the album’s 12 tracks and sound as delectable as ever.

It’s a surprisingly eclectic record, with the pace shifting from urgent at the outset (‘Everyday I Love You Less and Less’) to comatose at the finale (‘Team Mate’).

Lyrically, it’s an album packed with observations. Some astute, and some not. ‘I’ve got to get this message to the press / that everyday I love you less and less’ suggests a disdain for the media’s preoccupation with celebrity relationships, and is in the former camp. ‘Pneumeothorax is a word that is long,’ on the other hand, belongs to the latter. But this is a pop record, so forgive them for such nonsense.

Try not to worry too much about where it comes from, or who else it may or may not sound like. Instead, enjoy a record that is quintessentially British, without pretension and most importantly, a whole lot of fun.

  • Kaiser Chiefs 8 / 10
Words: Rob Webb

Re: Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

This band is just TERRIBLE!

Re: Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

i agree - what a bunch of goobacks! (backs sticky with goo?)

Re: Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

I always thought the Kaiser Chiefs were dull, unimaginative twats and after my girlfriend showed me the whole album I can only say this has exaserbated my opinion that they have little to no talent and the band members themselves are complete wannabe's of alternative culture. In every interview they talk non stop about copying people either in looks or sounds and even in that fateful liam gallagher fiasco Ricky even said he wore make up to look more like him! Having influences is all well and good but is it just me or is this just rape of other peoples ideas? Also Ricky said in an old NME that he would wank off a drunken tramp to get famous! Which purely sickens me not because of the mental images but for thae fact that making music clearly seems a lower priority for him than appearing on tv with ant and dec and selling their souls by saying they wanna collaborate with 50 Cent?!?!?! Their songs grate on my ears and he really does sing about some worthless bolex most of the time, in every day.... he must use the title line about 20 times probably because he couldn't think of more lines and had to rush the recording so as to get it out to all the chart buying people as quick as possible. Also their "sad" songs have little to no feeling and leave me feeling cold that it was written simply to put softer songs onto the album. So why oh why are people still fawning over the kaisers? Please wake up people! Also to the girls who think Ricky is "hot" wtf??

Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

I'll try not to worry. But I feel the need to point out they sound absolutely fuck all like blur.

And they're brilliant.

That's all.

Re: Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

Um, they do. The last track is practically 100% Blur.
Well, 99% then.

Re: Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

Yup, the first two names out of the hat after we'd finished listening to it were Blur and Menswear.

I wasnt that impressed really, "..riot" and "oh my god" are still top tunes! :)

sp xx

Re: Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

'every day i love you less and less' is my fave. always has been.

Re: Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

Menswear!?

Re: Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

sounds about right.

Re: Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

I see you li-o-no

and I repeat...

Menswear? Were you listening to the same album?

Na na na na naa

music-monstrosity.blogspot.com

Re: Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

Well the first two names that popped into my head were Supergrass and SFA but they sound like a mish-mash of every Britpop band circa '95, as well as The Kinks and The Jam.

Good album though.

Re: Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

Ricky's stage moves tell me he spent a lot of time watching Damon Albarn...

Re: Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

Go and listen to Modern Life Is Rubbish again.

Re: Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

sorry to butt in...
but i too have heard they are a bit blur-ish (nowt wrong with that) but you cant help but like those singles.
seem like top fellas also.

www.thescreening.co.uk

Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

A great review. I agree that it is a pop album but with a very British sound,catchy choruses,lyrics that don't need to be analysed and no pretension.

Overall a very good album but overhyped in the media and may not appeal to everyone. I give it 7 out of 10.

Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

for a pop album, there's far too few great songs.

i feel i should give them some goodwill, but this isn't particularly good. i just feel that given a bit of time this album could have been great but its been rushed. its a shame.

Re: Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

It isn't a classic debut but everything takes time.

Look at other great Brit bands - Blur and Radiohead - how many truly great songs were on their debuts?

THis LP has a great mix of many things and for once, it is a truly enjoyable listen without the confines of cool holding it back.

Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

My faves are the fast ones. Remind me of the Jam played by early Supergrass, but a bit tighter. Cool rhythm section and it grows well. Less fond of the occasional Madnessisms.

Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

terrible album guys sorry. the singles were ok but grate very quickly.. boring nme rock band. tell me, will they still be here next year? Ok how about still here in 2-3

Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

it's quite good, but not brilliant

Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

It may be very very VERY Blur-esque, but I think that 'Modern Way' is a brilliant song, that's always been my favourite.

and for goodness sakes - it's their first record. Who know's what's to come?

there's also lots of Super Furry Animals in the mix too, and that's got to be a good thing...
xg

Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

It's alright, heard some of it today. Not worthy of a purchase though.

Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

The very definition of 'meh'.

They're both ten years too late and ten years too early.

Re: Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

I can't stand this band I'm afraid they are so indie-lite-lite-lite that there is just nothing of worth or substance to be found here. I might like it if I was 16 and just getting into music. Which I'm sure a lot of people do. But there's just nothing here worth lending an ear to.

Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

I'm 15 and I don't like this. But then I was into Neutral Milk Hotel a year ago, so I think I'm a freak accident, or something. I am an indie elitist who's not ageing fast enough.

Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

I think its a classic. Sits neatly next to a long line of greats drawing on ideas from The Beatles and The Kinks to Roxy Music to Madness, Duran Duran and Blur - even if they're not around for years as their sound is quite generic (and so few bands are around for years anyway) Kaiser Chiefs have made their mark now on British pop history with this album, Employment is a corker.

Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

put me on the cover of your magazine!!

Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

Should this have been reviewed on here without DiS declaring it in their register of members interests or equivalent?

As they're signed to this website's sister record label, it was never going to get a bad review now, was it?

Re: Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

they're not actually signed to this website's sister record label, but they did once release a single on it.
stop looking for conspiracy theories where there probably aren't any and go find something to do oustide.

Re: Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

DiS' 'sister record label'?
B-Unique?
Really?
Erm. Hardly.
Mind you, I wouldn't put it past our Sean... ;-)

Re: Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

Let's see ... they released a single on Drowned In Sound recordings. This suggests that DiS liked the band... so it's hardly surprising that the album's getting a good review too.

I don't see any problem here.

Re: Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

Well, the chap who reviewed the album had nothing to do with the release of the single...

Re: Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

Didn't he though, shadyadie? DIDN'T he????

No, probably not. I take it all back. If only the Kaiser Chiefs didn't ever release singles on ANY label, we'd all be a lot better off.

Joke?

Yes. They're ALLright.

Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

This album is very good but not amazing. there are a couple of average tracks, but so many of the tracks are infectious and catchy, which make it a cool album for me.

I'd give it 4 stars

Re: Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

6 or 7 very good tracks but the last two are really really bad !
A fun record, nothing breathtaking, nothing originalbut good. Will have to stop it every time after track 10 still.

Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

Conspiracy theories...

*yawn*

I just happened to like the album, that's all.

But check the credits, Gareth and Sean both mentioned. The plot thickens...

Re: Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

As I said above, I don't see the problem. Drowned In Sound liked the band and released their first single. So you could say they gave them their break. Yay DiS, say I.

Re: Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

to be fair, if DiS hadn't released that single, someone else would have, very soon after. i suspect there was a small bidding war, so i do.

Re: Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

As far as I remember it, they had someone (I know not whom) lined up to put the single out, but they couldn't do it as soon as the band wanted, so Nick (I think) emailled Gareth (I think) and said "would DiS like to put this out?" and DiS replied "oooooh yes please that would be lovely" or words to that effect and - ta da - the rest is history.

Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

to be honest i think they're crap, but the first single was good.

Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

andysmith, what kind of statement is that??? You can't possibly have played the album it hasn't been out long enough. They have only had two singles (the first and third were the same song) and you say you think one of the singles is good. Yet, taking this into account, you still deem the band crap??? How the hell can you come to that conclusion? Can you please give us a little more to go on rather than simply saying its CRAP!!!

Ok, TKC will never win an award for originality, but they write fantastic POP songs! I've had the album on promo for nearly a month now and it is fantastic. Buy it, play it, enjoy it... don't try to disect it! It's great fun!

Re: Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

ummm
he might have had the album for over a month
he might be a journalist
he might have a promo copy
also, he doesn't have to say any more than it's crap if he wants, he's not the reviewer here.
also, the comment about singles makes perfect sense. Oh My God was the first single, so if he likes the first single, he likes that song. Capiche?

Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

Just sounds like ABC to me.

Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

For Christ Sakes man!!!

What the HELL is that supposed to mean????

Re: Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

Well, he either means it sounds like the alphabet, the Jackson 5 song, or, most likely, 80s pop band ABC whose second album (after they ditched the gold suits) did actually sound a bit more britpoppy. A bit.

Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

Just listened to this album. I won't again.

Re: Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

hahha, and this is coming from a killers fan?!?!?!? I'd better sit up and take notice then!

<<You have my full attention>>

Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

modern way pure blur

Re: Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

You're not wrong, but some of the other tracks that have been cited as Blur-like actually remind me more of Madness from around "The Rise and Fall".

But then I suppose that's where Mr Albarn got all his ideas from in the first place.

Re: Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

It's all there from The Specials to Paul Williams. I think it's a very very good record indeed, and they're going to get better...

Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

I got my copy today. It's a good pop record. I'd say 4 out of 5 was a fair assessment.

Kaiser Chiefs - How did this band get signed?

Darcy was right as he often is. They are massively over rated. I mean massively. I don't think I've seen such a poor group become so big since The Darkness (and whatever became of them?). They're practically a Blur covers group at some stages without the verve, the passion or the personality. Despite mentioning lyrics, the review seems to pass over the fact that in this field, the Chiefs go to rock bottom, and then keep drilling down. Anyone can make a few clever rhyming insights into contemporary pop culture, but the Kaiser Chiefs don't do anything else. Let's take some time to remember these crap injustices against pop:

First up; I Predict A Riot

"Watching the people get lairy
Is not very pretty I tell thee" and

"Would never have happened to Smeaton
And old Leodiensian"

From Oh My God

"But you work in a shirt with your nametag on it
Drifting apart like a plate tectonic"

And there's lot more + the whole of Naa Naa Naa.

They are crap, admit it everyone. I'd rather watch the Crazy Frog ad than these guys.













Re: Kaiser Chiefs - How did this band get signed?

i think theyre ok( i agree with you about the darkness) , but kaiser chiefs just started playing on the radios here in the US and their songs kinda catchy, iguess. I like them.

Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

bought the album. waste of money. only good song i predict a riot. over rated.

Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

why can't you just like it because it's nice to listen to? don't hate them because they're popular.

Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

snore.....dull dull music you've heard a thousand times before. britpop went out a few years ago PLEASE dont bring it back in. come on we've moved on and up in the world no more 'jokey' songs with 'ironic' accents in. and yes they DO sound like blur! blurs worst period that is, the novelty songs like country house etc.

Re: Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

I like it a lot.

Theres certainly a 'Britpop' retro sound on there but its been a few years since anyone made this kind of album so in a sense its refreshing.

At least they dont sound like Coldplay :p

Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

"At least they don't sound like Coldplay"

If ever there was band damned with faint praise, then it was just then.

It's an OK album, nothing more. And the rubbish lyrics annoy me.

Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

It's a good album, but everyday i love... is already overplayed, but not so much i dislike it ... YET

Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

they are a great band! how can anyone slag them off they sound nothing like blur! and ricky is hott!

Re: Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

Pop band of the year. The only people to whom they don't sound like Blur have labradors with shiny jackets though.

As for the hotness thing, no comment. Though I would expect someone so bloody hyperactive on stage to be a bit, erm, slimmer!

Re: Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

definatly not pop band of the year! who cares that hes not the slimmest person in the world hes not hypacritcal hes funny and he expresses his views

Re: Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

The blind have guide dogs. The blind. Not the deaf, the blind.

Re: Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

They sound everything like Blur. The lead singer has a face more slappable than Nick Gatfields and anyone who likes a band because they are "hott" (and doesn't even have a basic grasp of English to know that "hot" is spelt with one T and that calling someone "hot" means you are saying that they are warm) should A) not be considered a music fan (no shit - Ed) and B) should be kept away from buying CD's and ruining it the rest of us. That doesn't just mean Kaiser Chiefs fan's.

Re: Kaiser Chiefs - Employment

Bit harsh but I don't like the Kaiser Chiefs either.

Kaiser Chiefs

What is the point in coming on this website, reading about the Kaiser Chiefs, and then deciding to have a 'let's slag the Kaiser Chiefs off' competition! Their music is great, and it's not boring, like some of the music is these days. So don't post anything on here unless your going to post a nice comment about them! They are the best band around at the moment, and have been my favourite band for ages, and, to be honest, I think most of you on here are all just jealous. So keep your pathetic comments to yourself, your boring me!


Kaiser Chiefs

They sound fuckall like Blur, Their songs are though, Top of the range BritRock catchiness and should be celebrated as such. If you don't like it, go and play Genuwine or something, Be gone.