Souvenir: The Singles 2004 – 2012 – Kaiser Chiefs

The singles collection, the last retreat of the desperate or a pertinent reminder of what has made a band great?  There are cases for both statements; in the dock today is the Kaiser Chiefs Souvenir: The Singles 2004 – 2012 a band whose popularity in this time has significantly waned, but is this just the musical climate or a dip in quality from the band over the years…

Heavily weighting the start of the album with the big hitters, you are reminded just how good Kaiser Chiefs have been at delivering cheeky indie pop songs in their time.  Oh My God, Ruby and the rabble rousing I Predict A Riot still bristle, natural successors to Blur’s Britpop crown and coupled with Ricky Wilson’s wry lyrics they are inescapably catchy tunes.

Listen To Your Head is the first of a couple of new incentive tracks, muted piano opens before the synth stabs bring things to life as Ricky pleads ’ if you want to stay alive, then you’ve got to play dead’ and 80s influence creeps in as the guitar solo fades out.

Little Shocks, taken from last year’s The Future Is Medieval perhaps lacks the initial punch of the earlier hits but there is something more expansive, even Bowie-esque about it, signs the band are developing, even if their audience is not.

Love’s Not A Competition (But I’m Winning) is a bitter tale and more at odds to the jaunty pop you expect from the Leeds lads and is an oft overlooked treat.  Modern Way is another of the more understated tracks, but the simple verses serve perfectly as the launch for the swooning chorus and show the band were able to tone it down when required.

On The Run is the second of the two new tracks, a Madchester style verse gives way to an 80s synth led chorus and whilst not as irresistible as those early singles, still has enough about it to make you hopeful for what comes next.

The Kaiser Chiefs reportedly took a break between the Off With Their Heads and The Future Is Medieval albums due to the shift in the musical landscape, that three year gap certainly did not help the cause but let’s face it, the times they are a changin’.   Opting for the non-chronological track listing does allow for some of the lesser hits to rub shoulders with their better received kin. This means that even the most impatient track hopper never has long to wait before the ‘one I know’ comes on.

It now seems perhaps prophetic they wrote Every Day I Love You Less And Less, I hope Souvenir gives them a little of that love back, they deserve it.

Jules says…

To find out more about Kaiser Chiefs click HERE.