Customer Reviews

Yours Truly Angry Mob

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Our favourite rabble rousing lot, Kaiser Chiefs, return with their sophomore disc, "Yours truly, angry mob", which has already topped the UK album charts.

Opening the disc is the uncharacteristic mellow and melodic straight ahead love song "Ruby", the lead off single, which gave them their first UK #1. Following is "The angry mob" whose sing-a-long chorus comes after a tempo shift towards the end of the track.

"Heat dies down" is a catchy, sunny and upbeat song with a terrific guitar riff, sounding not unlike something Franz Ferdinand would do. In a similar vein is the choppy "Learnt my lesson well" with sunny sounding harmonies.

Returning to the Kaiser Chiefs we all know and love, cheeky and rebellious sounding ("Everyday I love you less & less" & "I predict a riot" anyone?) are "Highroyds", "Thank you very much", the buddy song "My kind of guy", the punk feel of "Everything is average nowadays" (the album's second single), the defiant "I can do it without you", the latter displaying their acerbic wit to the full.

Slowing things down, we get the tender acoustic "Love's not a competition (but I'm winning)", the brief piano ballad "Boxing champ", and "Try your best".

Closing is the delightful Smiths-like "Retirement", (I want to get by without the man on my back, they sing) a song we all wish we could sing. Ah!!

Rip-roaring fun!!

Nearly every song on here is a pleasure. Nothing too deep, just good indie rock with good clean (sonically, that is) vocals. There's some very well produced nuances I found after listening with a good pair of headphones. I especially like the way they used synths on Ruby (one of my favorite songs on here). They are reminiscent of XTC in that quirky way while still rockin' out. I haven't really been moved by some of the slower tempo songs, but it's probably not what I'm into right now. It's a good all-around album and I just picked up an older one a few days ago, so I can't comment on it just yet.

With their sophomore set, "Yours Truly, Angry Mob" the Kaiser Chiefs continue the same brand of alternative pop they procured on their solid debut, "Employment".

There are plenty of hooks to be found on "Ruby", "The Angry Mob", "Heat Dies Down", "Highroyds", "Thank You Very Much", "My Kind Of Guy", "Everything Is Average Nowadays" and "Retirement". The album is also peppered with clever observations and ironic anecdotes.

Overall, I'd give this cd 3.5 stars, as it's not as good as their debut. The sticker on the front of the cellophane said something like, "One of the Top 25 most anticipated albums of 2007". I guess not, according to its first week of sales in Billboard magazine the album only sold a paltry 17,000 copies and landed something like a 47 placement in the hot 200 albums chart, not even cracking the top 40. British music isn't always well received in America (though I prefer it to American music), and the band is obviously more successful overseas.

If you liked their first album, you will most likely like their second.

(3 & 1/2 stars) I pretty much agree with a previous reviewer's overall rating of 3 stars for the CD (I'd nudge it up just a bit), but otherwise I have a slightly alternative take on the music. There are a number of standout tracks, and the album also has a nice amount of variety in terms of different styles and tempos of songs. I particularly liked the single "Ruby" (of course) and "Everything Is Average Nowadays," and even some fairly adventurous tunes such as the psychedelic "Try Your Best." I was a little surprised to read the other reviewer's pick of "My Kind of Guy" as a song they appreciated most. For me the song illustrates my main problem with the album -- a good-sounding song with a relatively uninteresting and non-memorable melody. As I was listening, I thought, "Would any of the people who're saying this Kaisers CD is a perfect masterpiece (see the deluxe edition reviews) actually be able to remember this song or sing along with the chorus? I think not." And several other cuts have a similarly non-distinguished quality. So overall for me there's just not enough topnotch material like "Ruby" to put this CD in the pantheon of 5 star albums. It does end with a blast, though, with the massive punch of "Retirement." That song alone is worth at least half a star, don't you think?

Is it just me, or did anyone else think that the title of this CD was "FBI Anti-Piracy Warning: Unauthorized copying is punishable under federal law."

Seriously, when that's the biggest thing on the disk other than the band logo, it seems a bit creepy. When it's repeated twice on the back of the case it's just depressing.

I bought this CD. I like this CD. Why do I feel like I just did something bad?

I would listen to this on my iPod, but frankly I am scared to stick it in my computer.

I love alternative music. Unfortunately, I have not liked alot of what I have heard lately. That was until I heard the song Ruby on the radio. I was blown away by the lyrics and the great sound of this band. I have been buying alot of classic rock lately. This is the first current alternative cd I have bought in long time. I was a little concerned because people had said that Ruby was the only good song on the album. In my opinion, the rest of the album is just as good as Ruby. I can't stop listening to it. Five stars all the way!

The Kaiser Chiefs' debug Employment was one of the brighter spots in the recent wave of British indie bands. Acclaimed for their comments on British lower-middle-class life and their tongue-in-cheek love songs, the Kaiser Chiefs spent most of the time in between Employment headlining festivals, touring, and battling comparisons to `90s Brit-Poppers Blur. It didn't help that singer Ricky Wilson was the victim of a hit-and-run and spent much of 2005 in a plaster cast.

Their second album, Yours Truly, Angry Mob, was released in the U.K. back in February and was their first #1 album. Although they don't have the kind of recognition here that they do back in the motherland, there is nothing in the album itself that should prevent it from selling thousands here. It's a finely crafted Brit-pop record that is at once familiar yet new and intriguing for American listeners.

First single "Ruby" starts off the album in typical Kaiser Chiefs fashion, with a jaunty guitar propelling the song and a series of very British "ah-ah-aaahs" harmonizing. The song has a chorus that could easily move stadium crowds to sing-a-longs, although the lyrics are fairly simple. The next song, "The Angry Mob," is one of the best tunes on the album. The drums and ominous guitar provide an angular rhythm that complements the excellent crowd chanting near the rising climax.

Yours Truly, Angry Mob's songs can be easily divided into two sections: songs of love lost and won, and commentaries or philosophizing on society. Of the former, the Chiefs have nearly perfected their craft. "Heat Dies Down" and "Love's Not a Competition, But I'm Winning" strike out at ex's and laments failed relationships.

"Heat" sounds like a second single, all Britpop melodies and a hard-to-forget chorus, while "Competition" is one of a very few acoustic songs the Chiefs have attempted. They pull it off well, with piano, guitar, and an ending that slowly fades away with a kind of delicate beauty.

The Chiefs reflections on society fare only a little worse, although they give it a solid shot. Although "The Angry Mob" and closer "Retirement," are excellent songs, a few fail to go anywhere.

"Highroyds," while having some choice lyrics ("They let in all the girls from the year below / No need for ID's with those dresses") lacks a memorable musical structure and Wilson struggles to sound tough. "Try Your Best" is a slow song in the mold of "Competition," but relies too much on drums and a nearly ambient guitar line, as well as being bogged down by vague lyrics.

Another sign of a future change in the Chiefs' musical sensibilities can be found on "Boxing Champ/Learnt My Lesson Well," which inexplicably was combined into one song on the American release. "Boxing Champ" features just an uplifting piano line and the vocal stylings of drummer Nick Hodgson, the band's principal songwriter. Hodgson's honest, earnest pipes nearly make this song the best on the record, but sadly it is little over a minute long.

"Boxing Champ" immediately segues into "Learnt My Lesson Well," which is heralded by a pounding tom rhythm and a menacing guitar part. Although lyrically it is a bit trifling, the band's energetic gusto makes up for it.

While lacking the fiery, urgent energy of a band attempting to distinguish themselves that Employment offered in spades, Kaiser Chiefs' latest still has enough hooks and melodies to power a summer of singalongs.

A read of the UK site suggests that the angry mob didn't like this second album as much as its predecesor. From my point of view, its hard to fault, except perhaps that the delivery is a little too tightly crafted--I'd have liked a little more instrumentation and a little less verse-chorus-verse. Their live shows they have the chops and its time they used them. Still, a very good album and one that hasn't been out of my car stereo for a week now.

Every time I think of this band, I remember them as the Kaiser "Chefs" rather than the Kaiser "Chiefs"; and I keep trying to associate the band with food. As much as this is one of my brain quirks, it's indicative that the band is almost memorable. There's enough here that shows promise to make you want to tune in, but there's not enough to glue you to them. The opening song "Ruby" is immediately attractive, but then wore a bit thin. I more like the second track "The Angry Mob" that boasts punk anthem joyfulness, "You'll raise a glass until you raise a fist or two & get a shopping basket wrapped round your head." "Heat Dies Down" sounds quite similar to the Rolling Stones' "Paint It Black." It repeats in my song rotation with its humor making me smile, "So I tried that night to do all the things I thought you'd like but that just made it worse & I impressed you not -- well not a lot." A couple other tracks like "Learnt My Lesson Well" & "Retirement" are pretty good. Some of the tracks like "Highroyds" go by before I remember to listen. So in the end, this is a rather inconsistent set with a few great tracks. It's enough for now. Enjoy!

The second album from Kaiser Chiefs picks up where Employment left off, with hooky singles and catchy chorus and a newly minted smartness that kicks this up a touch from the debut. There's a sense of the frustrated Brit noise that made The Jam or Pulp so interesting in their heyday. "Yours Truly Angry Mob" is the sound of a band that has managed to get away from the roots they desperately wanted to escape, only to realize the dream is still where the hearth is.

When you start a song off with "I remember nights out when we were young/They weren't very good, they were rubbish" or makes the title song about the fickleness of an angered public, there's the sense that ennui knows no boarders. "Angry Mob" reminds me of a catchier version of Depeche Mode's "New Dress" in that an easy joke or a clever diversion can lure the attention away from items of import; as the chorus "We like who we like, we hate who we hat but we're also easily swayed" is more subversive than the shiny pop sheen that carries it.

While I think the third album is even a greater improvement over "Yours Truly Angry Mob," this was a thrilling advance for The Kaiser Chiefs. They've been getting more dynamic with each album and maybe the 4th will be the one that breaks them stateside.