Off With Their Heads

KAISER CHIEFS Off With Their Heads (2008 UK 11-track CD album - Produced by Mark Ronson & Eliot James Off With Their Heads could / should be described as being the first proper Kaiser Chiefs album with a solid base on which is constructed aseries 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. Including the single Never Miss A Beat [complete with backing vocals from Lily Allen & New Young Pony Club] plus Half The Truth which more than nods to the likes of XTC and comes with a contribution from UK grime artist Sway; before Lily contributes backing vocals to Always Happens Like That.)

After cockily shrugging off the difficult second album challenge with their hugely successful Yours Truly, Angry Mob, the Kaisers deliver yet another collection of blistering rock-pop in the shape of Off with Their Head. Producer Mark Ronson returns the band to the distilled pop potency of 2005's Employment as well as providing an all-star cast of guests: Lily Allen provides backing vocals on "Always Happens Like That", classical starlet David Arnold adds strings to "Like It Too Much" and UK grime aficionado Sway does a star turn on the unlikely yet winning "Half the Truth". Yet this is definitely the Kaiser's own show, as evinced on the wonderfully woozy "Tomato in the Rain," the catchy "Good Days, Bad Days", the feisty "You Want History" and the lovely--and somewhat surprising--finale "Remember You're a Girl". Musically, Off with Their Heads ain't rocket science, and the band's insights into contemporary urban life are superficial at best--but the Kaisers still manage to mostly hit the spot. --Danny McKenna