Chiefs’ latest glitters more than “Ruby”
On Off With Their Heads, Kaiser Chiefs finally live up to their early promise. They’re no longer complaining about fame,—like on 2007’s urbane and rather mean-spirited Yours Truly, Angry Mob—or crafting fussy overwrought melodies that sound like stilted refugees from the ’80s’ New Romantics—or worse, Blur’s middle period. With the help of über-producer Mark Ronson (Amy Winehouse), the Chiefs have lopped off more than their heads, shedding a musical fat suit, stripping their sound to its laddish basics and recalling a time before Britpop was a dirty word. Both anxious and anthemic, the third most famous band from Leeds, England (behind Gang of Four and the Mekons) lobs social commentary as sharp as drummer Nick Hodgson’s ties, and tackles subjects as brainy as evolutionary biology (“Like It Too Much,”), the tenets of self-help (“Tomato In the Rain”) and gender politics (“Remember You’re A Girl”), all at breakneck speed.
Listen to “Remember You’re a Girl” from Off With Their Heads on Kaiser Chiefs’ MySpace page.