[rating=1.50]
Stateside, the Kaiser Chiefs are known for their highly infectious pop punk smash, “I Predict a Riot,” from their first album, Employment. And with the release of Yours Truly, Angry Mob,the Leeds-based quintet of Ricky Wilson (vocals), Simon Nix (bass), Nick Baines (keyboards), Andrew White (guitar) and Nick Hodgson (drums and backing vocals) all have the hopes of winning over American fans. However, the brashly infectious energy on their biggest single stateside seems sorely missing on Yours Truly. In fact, the majority of the songs plod along in an almost lackluster manner, which is at times perhaps unintentionally bolstered by the strangely downcast, dour lyrics throughout. Certainly, English wit is often dryly ironic and even more so highly literate but considering the tone of the songs, plus song titles such as “Everything Is Average Nowadays,” “Retirement,” seem to have a strange double meaning – in the sense that they seem to have fallen into a rather troubling and hopeless rut.
The standout song on this sophomore effort is the opening song, “Ruby” which is a fine piece of modern pop-inspired rock with a rather catchy, if not silly chorus. In fact, this song is so strangely likeable that the rest of the album just feels increasingly disappointing. “Highroyds” is a typical English youth with restless ennui song that we’ve heard half a million times from much better bands, including the Who. And the punk-inspired, “The Angry Mob,” manages to fall on its face, mainly because vitriolic fury isn’t natural to them
