Off With Their Heads

by

Kaiser Chiefs

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"Off with their heads" is the third CD from UK rabble rousers Kaiser Chiefs. Produced by wunderkind Mark Ronson (Ronson covered their "Oh my God" with Lily Allen on his "Version" CD) it isn't the retro horn-filled affair one would expect. In fact, it is rather Blur-influenced, to my ears at least.

Clocking in at just over 35 minutes, the songs cut right to the chase, opening with the Blur-sounding "Spanish metal" followed by the just-as-rocky "Never miss a beat" and the (again) Blur-sounding "Can't say what I mean". The plodding "Like it too much" has a jagged feel, while "You want history" has a light Ska feel.

Other standouts include the bouncy "Half the truth" (with UK rapper Sway and it surprisingly works), the closing psychedelic sixties-sounding ballad "remember you're a girl" (with faint Beach Boys influences), the bobbing "Always happens like that" (with sunny harmonies, nice jangly guitars and Lily Allen in tow), "Addicted to drugs" (buzzing guitars and thumping beats) and the lovely psychedelic "Tomato in the rain".

This is an album that grows and grows on you. Ok her Royal Majesty, not off with their heads just yet...

Ok, so maybe they should have waited a little bit longer before churning out another record. There are no songs on "Off With Their Heads" that are as satisfyingly catchy as the best stuff from last year's "Yours Truly...". But are you going to be the one to tell them that their latest batch of pop is just pretty good instead of exceptional? This may not be a perfect album, but it's a very good one. Every song is full of the Kaisers' relentelss energy and hummable melodies. Songs such as Good Days, Bad Days, Tomato in the Rain and Never Miss a Beat are the highlights here but the rest of the bunch are pretty good too. This album probably won't ignite the riot that they predicted back on 2005's "Employment", but it will do until that day arrives.