Album Review: Kaiser Chiefs- 'Kaiser Chiefs Easy Eighth Album'
20 years ago, a young band named Kaiser Chiefs gatecrashed the mainstream with their rowdy hit singles ‘Oh My God’ and ‘I Predict A Riot’. Two decades and seven albums later, they’re back with ‘Kaiser Chiefs Easy Eighth Album’, the aptly named eighth installment in their ever-expanding discography.
After so long in the game, you’d be forgiven for assuming that the new record was a weary, more-of-the-same affair. In fact, it’s the complete opposite. ‘Kaiser Chiefs Easy Eighth Album’ finds the band on refreshed, energetic form. Following on from 2019’s ‘Duck’- which saw the band carve out a modern take on their classic sound- the album is a collection of songs which share a playful pop sensibility. Opening track ‘Feeling Alright’ was born out of a collaboration with Chic legend Nile Rodgers, and it shows. The song is a joyous, infectiously funky start to the album, all glittering guitars and soulful groove. “Nile said ‘Have you got anything’”, explains frontman Ricky Wilson. “I panicked and played him the jam, he said ‘It’s great’. I came up with some lyrics in 18 hours and two days later we had the finished track”.
The song perfectly sets the mood for a record on which the 00’s indie icons embrace dance and electronics, not least on lead single ‘How 2 Dance’- also originating from the Rodger’s sessions- which finds Wilson forgetting his cares on the dancefloor. “I put away anxiety/ I just stopped thinking about it”, he declares over a Get Lucky-esque disco beat which wouldn’t sound out of place in a club. The band continue down this bold new path with the album’s second single ‘Jealousy’, an instant earworm which distils their newfound, unapologetically pop sound, whilst retaining the dry humour which has always been their trademark: “Of the seven deadly sins/ Will heaven let you in, if you’re never doing more than four?” winks Wilson, as the song’s shiny instrumentation springs into life.
While Nile Rodgers was certainly a key player in helping the band unlock this danceable new sound, Rudimental’s Amir Amor- who Rodger’s drafted in as producer- was also massively important in helping them capture it. “Meeting Amir was great because he taught us that some things can be produced within an inch of their lives, and some things don’t have to be at all”, reveals Wilson. The band appear to have applied the latter sentiment to the penultimate track ‘Noel Groove’, which, as its name suggests, tones down the electronics in favour of an authentic Gallagher-coded jam, recalling the former Oasis guitarist’s foray into so-called ‘cosmic pop’ with his 2017 album ‘Who Built The Moon?’.
‘The Job Centre Shuffle’, meanwhile, sees the band put a fresh spin on their classic sound, paying tribute to Leeds post-punk legends Gang Of Four, as well as contemporaries like Yard Act. ‘Burning In Flames’ continues to mine gold from decades gone by, this time extracting the essence of 80s bands like Duran Duran and A-ha, resulting in a shimmering, subtly orchestrated mid-album highlight, which lyrically explores life on the road, and why the band always find it in them to persevere. “If your favourite toy is broken you don’t throw it away, you fix it”, reflects Wilson.
‘Sentimental Love Songs’ also finds Wilson in a reflective mood, the song a glossy yet heartfelt declaration of lasting love to his wife of many years. Elsewhere, ‘Beautiful Girl’ is a jangly pop-rocker full of trademark Kaiser quips (“If I were in your shoes, they’d probably be too tight”), while the swaggering rock-stomp of ‘Reasons To Stay Alive’ suggests Personal Jesus-era Depeche Mode.
Album closer ‘The Lads’ is a euphoric and touching tribute to the long-lasting male friendships- both within and outside of the band- which Wilson clearly holds dear. “We have no idea where we’re going/ But we’ll get there together/ From here to forever/ We will always be there for our friends”, he sings as his bandmates provide strong support, in what could be described as a musical metaphor for the song’s sentiment. It’s a fitting end to an album which serves to remind us of the top-drawer songwriting and strong personal bonds that have kept Kaiser Chiefs thriving since 2004. It would be unwise to bet against them still going strong another twenty years from now. I predict an even easier ninth album.
Words by Ben Left
