Review of the Kaiser Chiefs' CD Yours Truly, Angry Mob

The UK's Best-Kept Secret is Worth Picking Up

The Kaiser Chiefs first came to my attention last year when I saw their video for "Ruby", the lead single from their CD, Yours Truly, Angry Mob (Universal/Motown, 2007), on VH1. The video was delightfully clever and the song was one of the rare few that I loved on the very first hearing. I'd felt the same affinity for the Killers' first single, "Somebody Told Me", and I waited for the Kaiser Chiefs to blow up in a similar way.

I'm still waiting. "Ruby" and the album it came from both went to #1 in the U.K. but have caused barely a ripple stateside; Yours Truly, Angry Mob peaked at #45 on the Billboard Hot 200 Albums chart. So here I am, trying to start a rekindling of interest in the band with my itty bitty review. Who knows, it might start a whole grass-roots thing.

Since the band hasn't gotten the exposure they deserve, it's likely you haven't heard any of their stuff. Obviously, the internet can clear that problem up; I'm sure the clever video for "Ruby" is on YouTube, and you should be able to add this CD to your playlist on YahooMusic.com, which is what I did to get more of a taste while I contemplated buying the CD (quite happy I did, thanks). Before you do any of that, though, you might just finish reading this review, so I'll try to do what a large number of music reviews fail to do: use the written word to effectively convey what the music sounds like.

Okay, first I'd categorize the style as British Alternative Rock. That tells you it's like Alt-Rock but the guys sing with an accent and use cool limey terms like "rubbish". The music ranges from the sheer exuberance of "Ruby" to the more contemplative "Love's Not a Competition (But I'm Winning)", and dips into a raucous, working-class sensibility on "Highroyds" and the title track. Besides the insanely catchy music (try listening to "Ruby" even once without singing along, possibly at the top of your lungs, to the anthemic and quickly-learned chorus), the lyrics are quite clever, as well. Here's a little social commentary on the crowd mentality from "Yours Truly, Angry Mob":

We are the angry mob
We read the papers every day
We like who we like, we hate who we hate
But we're also easily swayed