Kaiser Chiefs ups the ante

You won't miss a beat, and the album's single suggests you shouldn't.

By Kristin Torres

Published Oct. 27, 2008

As if you've had enough time to get last year's anthemic crowd-pleaser "Ruby" out of your head (and you haven't), everybody's favorite band named after a South African football club is back. A mere 18 months later, Kaiser Chiefs has returned with a new record, a new sound and a new jittery single to put "Ruby" to bed once and for all.

But be wary. Kaiser Chiefs' first single, "Never Miss A Beat," from Off With Their Heads, is a bit deceptive. As each previous album has had its obvious stand-alone song - the aforementioned "Ruby," off 2007's Yours Truly, Angry Mob, and the frenzied "I Predict A Riot," from 2005's Employment - "Never Miss A Beat" carries the torch into another year. And it'll probably be another year before it leaves. But with it, the Leeds lads beckon back to the frantic time-bomb Britpop sound of their first album, promising another album chock-full of stadium hits and FM-friendly pop quips.

The single employs the repetitive, responsorial lyrical structure of '80s new wave, something Kaiser Chiefs has used in the past with thrilling results. And, while the song has "radio darling" written all over it, it doesn't fall in line with the rest of the adventurous, sprawling Off With Their Heads. It does, however, include the adorable color-me-British line, "What do you want for tea?/I want crisps."

And that distinctly UK-centric vernacular is no stranger to Kaiser Chiefs' lyrical lineup. But, as in the past, the band has surpassed the oft-confusing lexicon barrier (Crisps are fries, right? Or is that chips?). Using clever tricks like call-and-response choruses, sing-songy chants and energetic pop guitars, they've created loyal fans on both sides of the pond.

It's all still there on this newest effort. But even with such short spurts of time between albums (never more than two years in their career), the band is always surprisingly quick to transition and experiment.

In the Kaiser Chiefs catalog, there are seamless crossovers from classic, cheeky Britpop to the static riffs of new wave. Much of Off With Their Heads was preceded by last year's Yours Truly, which showed obvious raucous influence from late '70s American rock. And as they go along, they pick and choose between sounds, never completely abandoning a past experiment but instead compiling each style together in a cumulative package.

Vocalist Ricky Wilson's flat, even voice - arguably comparable to Duran Duran without the vocal range - is a good, albeit monotone, match for Kaiser Chiefs' music. It's the pacing drumbeat and the new wave guitars that really speak on the album, making new instrumental experiments easier to identify.

There's "Always Happens Like That," which features the dreamy, laid-back vocals of pint-sized Lily Allen, and "You Want History," both of which imitate a Brit-rock sound more akin to Blur than anything Kaiser Chiefs has done before.

The psychedelic "Half The Truth" goes where they've never gone, instilling the help of Sway - the UK rapper, mind you, not the ex-"Total Request Live" co-host. Including a snippy rap beat a la early '90s Beastie Boys, the collaboration is remarkably not as ridiculous as one might expect.

Toning it down a bit, aptly titled "Good Days Bad Days" and "Tomato In The Rain" are downcast numbers that slow down the record but are far from disposable.

While lyrical references to chips and tea might trip up most of us, it's the musical experimentation behind Off With Their Heads that makes the album memorable. Now just try getting "Never Miss A Beat" out of your head.