Kaiser Chiefs - The Future is Medieval

It's difficult to put myself into a frame of mind where I write about the Kaiser Chiefs with poise and grace, because the vast majority of their back catalogue has irritated the fuck out of me. Their brand of pub-rock spawned a number of hit singles with the same indisputable formula: midtempo rock + choruses where the line is repeated. "I predict a riot! Oh my God I can't believe it! Ruby Ruby Ruby Ruby!" In addition to this the band have now gone down the fanciful "go on, pick your own" route which suggests a slightly haphazard approach - almost careless, really. And then there were the rumours that they'd rejected David Bowie lyrics, only to emerge as a totally false story. So yeah. Not my favourite band.

Their fourth studio album, The Future is Medieval is supposedly influenced by Oasis' Be Here Now:

"We all know that record has loads of problems, but at least it's got an attitude, unlike the twee and boring folk music that's so popular at the moment"
- Nick Hodgson, drummer and songwriter

"Twee and boring folk music" assumedly meaning the likes of Bon Iver and Fleet Foxes, or actual artists if you will. Moving on from my sly digs - opening track 'Little Shocks' sounds rather a lot like Oasis rivals Blur's 'Stereotypes' with its background organ hooks and foreground britpop twangs. It's relatively inoffensive but is neither catchy enough to last nor clever enough to listen out for the lyrics ("everything will be explained in the diaries, especially the latter part." Indeed.) Things all of a sudden go indie-pop with 'Things Change', where a disco-funk inspired bassline plays tricks and gives the band an air of cool. Quite a feat. The vocals are spat with a hint of Gary Numan too, which is always cool.


'Long Way From Celebrating' again plays on some nice bass licks but the chorus is far too blustery by contrast, as though a tsunami disrupting your sunbathing. 'Starts With Nothing' has a staccato rhythm and sound that indeed suggests inspiration from Oasis - a dizzying piano tune underlies it all but never goes anywhere thanks to some dud lyrics ("Yes that is my final answer!" is repeated, as if the catchphrase from Who Wants to be a Millionaire? was an interesting lyric). "It's not entertaining being entertaining", Ricky Wilson complains in 'Out of Focus', as if he'd know. The track drags heavily but there are some interesting electronic pieces that give it some gusto.

The bluster is much more convincing and enrapturing in 'Dead Or In Serious Trouble', with a pirate-chant vocal and crashes all around, a slight Quadrophenia influence evident. An Eleanor Rigby introduction to 'When All is Quiet' is as if the classic Beatles track were recorded by the Kinks instead: it's pretty decent indeed, and falsetto harmonies throughout make it by far the strongest. The version I have is missing track 8, 'Kinda Girl You Are', so make your minds up on that one yourselves - 'Man on Mars' however has a repeated hook that's difficult to fight off. Again, the lyrics are pretty random, but the guitar solos are able to stand on their own two feet and succeed.

'Child of the Jago' is one of the strongest Oasis inspirations with its dark tones and prominent riffs; Wilson even at times emulates Gallagher the Liam - but the lyrics and progression are nowhere near in his league. There's an obligatory electronic one in 'Heard it Break' which is about broken hearts. Aaaaw. The track is actually pretty subversive for them, for the casual observer at least. The chorus has shades of Metronomy about it, which is very much en vogue lately. 'Coming Up For Air' has a typically Oasis rhythm and melody which is never a bad sound to aim for - a piano tune floats along nicely, the lyrics talk about "five-a-side"s and some pretty clumsy "fuck off, yeah?" musings, but again the music speaks for itself. Finally, 'If You Will Have Me', an acoustic (!) piece from Nick Baines, is a magnificent surprise: strings and bleakly revelatory lyrics sign things off triumphantly (although quite where this musically ties in with the rest of the album is a good point indeed).


I guess there's a major risk in this approach - but you have to give the band credit for experimenting with a variety of styles. Although you could claim they're tring to please everyone ahead of finding themselves musically, and that this album lacks something in the way of a theme or cohesion, the piecemeal approach actually works for me (but then I was never a fan of their usual sound). If they could now get a good lyricist we might be going places.

Rating: 6.5/10
Highlights: If You Will Have Me, When All Is Quiet, Heard it Break, Man on Mars, Out of Focus, Coming Up For Air
Avoid: Starts With Nothing, Little Shocks, Child of the Jago, Long Way From Celebrating
Artwork Watch: OBSOLETE, because of a "choose your own" policy. I'd assess each one but that'd be silly.