Yours Truly, Angry Mob

by

Kaiser Chiefs

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Our favourite rabble rousing lot, Kaiser Chiefs, return with their sophomore disc, "Yours truly, angry mob", which has already topped the UK album charts.

Opening the disc is the uncharacteristic mellow and melodic straight ahead love song "Ruby", the lead off single, which gave them their first UK #1. Following is "The angry mob" whose sing-a-long chorus comes after a tempo shift towards the end of the track.

"Heat dies down" is a catchy, sunny and upbeat song with a terrific guitar riff, sounding not unlike something Franz Ferdinand would do. In a similar vein is the choppy "Learnt my lesson well" with sunny sounding harmonies.

Returning to the Kaiser Chiefs we all know and love, cheeky and rebellious sounding ("Everyday I love you less & less" & "I predict a riot" anyone?) are "Highroyds", "Thank you very much", the buddy song "My kind of guy", the punk feel of "Everything is average nowadays" (the album's second single), the defiant "I can do it without you", the latter displaying their acerbic wit to the full.

Slowing things down, we get the tender acoustic "Love's not a competition (but I'm winning)", the brief piano ballad "Boxing champ", and "Try your best".

Closing is the delightful Smiths-like "Retirement", (I want to get by without the man on my back, they sing) a song we all wish we could sing. Ah!!

Rip-roaring fun!!

(3 & 1/2 stars) I pretty much agree with a previous reviewer's overall rating of 3 stars for the CD (I'd nudge it up just a bit), but otherwise I have a slightly alternative take on the music. There are a number of standout tracks, and the album also has a nice amount of variety in terms of different styles and tempos of songs. I particularly liked the single "Ruby" (of course) and "Everything Is Average Nowadays," and even some fairly adventurous tunes such as the psychedelic "Try Your Best." I was a little surprised to read the other reviewer's pick of "My Kind of Guy" as a song they appreciated most. For me the song illustrates my main problem with the album -- a good-sounding song with a relatively uninteresting and non-memorable melody. As I was listening, I thought, "Would any of the people who're saying this Kaisers CD is a perfect masterpiece (see the deluxe edition reviews) actually be able to remember this song or sing along with the chorus? I think not." And several other cuts have a similarly non-distinguished quality. So overall for me there's just not enough topnotch material like "Ruby" to put this CD in the pantheon of 5 star albums. It does end with a blast, though, with the massive punch of "Retirement." That song alone is worth at least half a star, don't you think?