Kaiser Chiefs - TheFuture Is Medieval

Thu 9th Jun, 2011 in Music Reviews

The sudden release Kaiser Chiefs’ fourth studio album, The Future Is Medieval, caught everyone off guard. But as if that wasn’t surprise enough, the strange concept of fans being able to arrange the album themselves, picking ten songs from a possible twenty, and then sell their copy and earn some money back was thrown into the mix. Every listener’s experience will vary but hopefully with the knowledge that follows you’ll go in with an idea on how to create an album that wont have you complaining that everything is average nowadays. (Boom tish!)

Problem Solved is the return of the typical Kaiser Chiefs sound, fast paced indie rock, heavier on guitar than 2008’s Off With Their Heads, as frontman Ricky Wilson’s Yorkshire vocals bounce around the track, taking you with them. A must have on when/if you create your own. Alhough you only get a preview of the song, so placing the songs in an order that flows as an album is down to luck.

Starts With Nothing is a solemn number that gathers pace towards a crashing climax, but it’s not a number two track on an album, its runs for five and a half minutes, it belongs on the very end. The same goes for The Child of Jago, a throbbing, down tempo track, that doesn’t quite belong near the start. While misplaced both deserve a spot further on in the album, and show a darker, more mature side to the Kaiser Chiefs, who are more renowned for penning songs-come-football anthems as opposed to anything with a serious tone.

Little Shocks, the lead single from the album, with Nick ‘Peanut’ Baines’ quirky, creeping keyboard giving the song a bit of groove to go along with the anthem-like chorus of “I wish I could give you undivided every minute, everyday but I cant”.

Song writer/ drummer Nick Hodsgon stated that the band wanted to hone the attitude that was on the much-maligned Oasis album Be Here Now. _ Long Way From Celebrating_ and Dead Or In Serious Trouble are proof in the pudding that the band managed to capture the vigor of it, whilst leaving behind the issues that plagued the Gallagher’s 1997 debacle. Long Way From Celebrating is a bass driven, jump-around special from the Leeds natives, its down tempo verses complimented by rocking choruses. Dead Or In Serious Trouble is of the more chaotic variety. The hurling drums and chanted vocals make it sound like a weird sub-genre that can only be labeled as pirate-indie.

Man on Mars is a pseudo-electro drone doesn’t really fit in with the direction the Chiefs appear to be taking, and is kind of irrelevant to the album. Cant Mind My Own Business is how they should be using electro sounds, subdued but still enough to put an underlying gloss to the trademark Northern bounce of the band.

While All Is Quiet, a quaint poppy number, has that Sunny Afternoon/The Importance of Being Idle feel to it, and Wilson’s voice hits notes higher than we are used to hearing. If You Will Have Me sounds like a demo-recorded acoustic complete with poignant string arrangements. The vocals are provided by Nick Hodgson, who seems to have a more emotive quality to his voice than Wilson, giving this song a real lovely touch.

From the majority the selections here the Kaiser Chiefs seem to be reverting to the sounds found on their debut album, Employment, minus their trademark, sometimes lovable, sometimes annoying, “na-na-na-na’s”, and it’s pleasant return to form.

Tracklist reviewed:
Problem Solved
Starts With Nothing
Child of Jago
Little Shocks
Long Way From Celebrating
Dead Or In Serious Trouble
Man On Mars
Cant Mind My Own Business
When All Is Quiet
If You Will Have Me

Create your own version