Lyrically obvious, trumpet-laden, cacophonous riffs that stay in the head for days. That was what RealMusic Blog expected after hearing that horn-loving remixer extraordinaire Mark Ronson was set to produce the Kaiser Chiefs’ third album in four years. Their brand of good, honest, northern and slightly predictable pop-rock is undoubtedly perfect for front-row mud-bouncing at any festival, but how would it fare once the producer du jour turned up in his perfectly angled hat and began tinkering?
Previously, the Chiefs have seemed like a squirrel who knows where an abundance of acorns are stashed and so they stick to the safe realms of the creativity tree. Catchy stadium chanting choruses with riffs that won’t quit. Simple. Off With Their Heads has that but with more experimental tangents, which is where the Kaisers’ future hopefully rests.
There’s a maturity in the songwriting here - gone are the vocals that follow the melody of the piano. In comes a balanced, noise-rich texture to their tunes - an intelligent layering that reeks of knob-twiddling Ronson. Drummer Nick Hodgson’s vocals carress the Beatles-inspired psychedelic 70’s feel of Remember You’re A Girl with surprising yet undeniable success. The pysch-synth, bass driving Half The Truth is another unexpected triumph that features UK rapper Sway, after he accidentally walked into the studio one day looking for producer Ronson. Brilliantly, there are many melodies frittered throughout this record that harp back to Lennon and co, none more noticeable than on Tomato In The Rain. And if you’re a Kaiser Chiefs singalong fan, fear not: the lads go back to what they know on current airwave-hogging single Never Miss A Beat, and Lily Allen makes an appearance on backing vocals on Always Happens Like That (a must for any Ronson album it seems).
The Kaisers have proven talent especially when bringing their sounds to raucous live shows, confirmed by the crown of Best Live Act at the recent Q awards. There’s just a feeling though that they haven’t quite lost their football chanting shackles, despite Off With Their Heads being sprinkled with ample creative glints. There’s no doubt that the polished and tightly finished collection of synthesised strumming pop treats found here is down to the sterling efforts of the producers Mark Ronson and Eliot James. So once again we doff our hats to you, Mr Ronson.
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Kaiser Chiefs’ Off With Their Heads is out now.
(Liam Fitzpatrick)
