Off With Their Heads

Kaiser Chiefs

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 28, 2008)
• Original Release Date: October 28, 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Motown
• ASIN: B001EYH2T8
• In-Print Editions: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #15,165 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

About the Artist

A mere eighteen months since the release of their second album Yours Truly, Angry Mob, which saw Leeds' Kaiser Chiefs have the best selling UK rock album of last year, they are set to unleash their third long-player. The multi-million selling bands 3rd album, entitled Off With Their Heads, is slated for Stateside release via Universal Motown and was produced in its entirety by Mark Ronson.

2008's Producer of the Year Grammy winner, Mark Ronson has worked his magic again. Testing his skill with one of Britain's biggest rock bands, the team has created an impressive synergy and the record bears a more expansive sound of any Kaiser record to date. With backing vocals from Lily Allen and New Young Pony Club, it sees the band add to their ever bulging bag of hit singles.

Kicking off with the somewhat incongruous "Spanish Metal" before launching into "Never Miss A Beat" - the first single off the record, the album has a powerful launch. "Like It Too Much" replete with lush orchestral arrangements from Bond & Bjork maestro David Arnold is a rousing classic Kaisers number which sits comfortably alongside the likes of album highlights "You Want History" and "Good Days Bad Days"; the latter underpinned by keyboard arrangements conjuring up New York disco morphed with Talking Heads-like brilliance, whilst in its wake creeps up the Kaiserdelic "Tomato In The Rain," heralded by its Hammond Organ and great lyrics.

"Half The Truth" more than nods to the likes of XTC and comes with a contribution from UK grime artist Sway, meanwhile friend and musical ally Lily Allen contributes backing vocals to "Always Happens Like That" before the psychedelic bent continues when drummer Nick Hodgson resumes vocal duties on album closer "Remember You're Girl", sounding like a long lost John Lennon track from the mid-70's.

Off With Their Heads was produced by Mark Ronson and Eliot James at RAK and Eastcote Studios in London in the Spring of 2008. It was mixed by Andy Wallace (Nirvana, LCD Soundsystem, Run DMC) at Soundtrack Studios, New York.

Product Description

2008 release. Off With Their Heads could/should be described as being the first 'proper' Kaiser Chiefs' album with a solid base on which is constructed a series of tracks which come together as an altogether less frenetic and more cohesive piece of work than previous outings and is almost certainly the better for it. The album was produced by Mark Ronson and Eliot James at RAK and Eastcote Studios in London in the Spring of 2008 and mixed by Andy Wallace (Nirvana, LCD Soundsystem, Run DMC) at Soundtrack Studios, Includes the single 'Never Miss A Beat'.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars From an artistic point of view this is the Kaisers' finest album to date., October 28, 2008

By	Gimme_Jazz (Casablanca, Morocco) - See all my reviews

This is their third effort and the first to feature the "man of the moment" Mark Ronson on production duties.
If you are expecting a hybrid of the Kaiser's terrace chant choruses and Ronson's faux-lounge sophistication, you're going to be disappointed.
There are a few strings here and there, and Ronson has got his mates Lily Allen - not that you would notice her contribution - , Sway and New Young Pony Club along for the ride, but for the main it's business as usual: chirpy, catchy, and very mid-'90s
Although the album is packed with great hooks and satisfying dynamics, it doesn't really take the band anywhere new, except avoiding the ordinary and obvious, namely glossy stadium-indie and retro-soul horns respectively, and aim for the extraordinary.
Sticking out a bit more, Sway contributes a rap to the garagey (as in rock) "Half The Truth".
Certainly, the Kaisers Chiefs' formulaic sound is honed to even greater efficiency.
Simple guitar riffs and off-the-peg keyboards drive songs with jaunty harmonised verses and singalong choruses. The bar is raised by witty lyrics of modern life set at ironic counterpoint to the laddish delivery.
The single "Never Miss A Beat" has probably lodged itself in your brain by now, its pseudo-social commentary on how today's 'youth' have nothing to say undermined somewhat by a chorus that, um, has nothing to say. Still, it's good pop song.
"You Want History" looks to the '80s - most notably Duran Duran - for inspiration and its closing mantra of "if the girls start moving the boys will join in", is not only very true but also the only time the album really flies.
Another highlight: the unexpectedly lovely final song "Remember You're a Girl", sung by drummer Nick Hodgson and glowing with Seventies singer-songwriter vibes.
The lack of a killer single will probably harm its commercial fortunes, but from an artistic point of view this is the Kaisers' finest album to date.
Overall, it's hardly a new direction, but it allows the Leeds' lads a nice margin ahead of the game.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Kaiser Chiefs - Off with Their Heads 8/10, October 28, 2008

By	Rudolph Klapper "www.klap4music.com" (Los Angeles / Orlando) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The Kaiser Chiefs have always been one of the most likable bands to emerge from the Brit-rock scene that came about with the rise of bands like Franz Ferdinand and the Libertines. The Leeds quintet's potent blend of `60s Kinks guitar-pop and Britpop worship combined with frontman Ricky Wilson's irreverently clever lyrics and distinctive delivery made their debut Employment and, to a lesser extent, their sophomore record Yours Truly, Angry Mob two of the more exciting records to come out of England post-Ferdinand. Off With Their Heads continues this streak without remaining too similar to what came before, as the Chiefs enlist all-star Brit producer Mark Ronson and turn their always-sharp witticisms toward more worldly topics than before.

There's nothing here as immediately catchy as Mob's ridiculously successful single "Ruby," but the band's sense of growth is palpable from the opening "Spanish Metal," a song that announces itself loud and clear with a threatening guitar line and a cascade of toms and crashes and is certainly one of the most "rockin'" songs the band has ever put down. Single "Never Miss A Beat" is vintage Kaiser Chiefs, a buzzing bass and twirling guitar line framing some of Wilson's most political lyrics yet. "It's cool to know nothing," he sings as the song's excellent guitar work takes off.

Ronson's fingerprints are all over this record, and for the better. The funky stomp and soaring strings of "Like It Too Much," the synth-heavy, pulsating beat of "You Want History," the syncopated tribal drums and slashing guitar on "Good Days Bad Days," Ronson helps the Chiefs produce an album that is more musically diverse than any of their previous offerings. And even when they're still perfecting the art of XTC-inspired Britpop, Ronson still gives them the extra edge, as on the bouncy, bell-laden, quite ironic "Addicted to Drugs." But don't forget Wilson's contributions; his lyrics remain some of the most entertaining on that side of the Atlantic, and his voice is endlessly melodic and in-tune.

There are a few missteps where the band takes one step too far, such as the out-of-place guest rap by Sway on "Half the Truth," or meander into formulaic rock like on "Can't Say What I Mean," but for the most part the Chiefs have succeeded in creating another gem of British rock `n roll. Here's to a new British invasion.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Still causing a riot!!!, October 28, 2008

By	Nse Ette (Lagos, Nigeria) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

"Off with their heads" is the third CD from UK rabble rousers Kaiser Chiefs. Produced by wunderkind Mark Ronson (Ronson covered their "Oh my God" with Lily Allen on his "Version" CD) it isn't the retro horn-filled affair one would expect. In fact, it is rather Blur-influenced, to my ears at least.

Clocking in at just over 35 minutes, the songs cut right to the chase, opening with the Blur-sounding "Spanish metal" followed by the just-as-rocky "Never miss a beat" and the (again) Blur-sounding "Can't say what I mean". The plodding "Like it too much" has a jagged feel, while "You want history" has a light Ska feel.

Other standouts include the bouncy "Half the truth" (with UK rapper Sway and it surprisingly works), the closing psychedelic sixties-sounding ballad "remember you're a girl" (with faint Beach Boys influences), the bobbing "Always happens like that" (with sunny harmonies, nice jangly guitars and Lily Allen in tow), "Addicted to drugs" (buzzing guitars and thumping beats) and the lovely psychedelic "Tomato in the rain".

This is an album that grows and grows on you. Ok her Royal Majesty, not off with their heads just yet...