Album Reviews - Feb 07

Words - Suzy Sims

Previously published on Native.tv in Feb 07 http://www.native.tv/

(c) Niche News & Publishing Ltd



Kaiser Chiefs - Yours Truly, Angry Mob
B-Unique, 26th February 2007

Now this is an oddity. As a bit of a Chiefette, I’m more than familiar with several of the bouncier tracks on Kaiser Chiefs' second album 'Yours Truly, Angry Mob'. They've been played at gigs and festivals across Europe for months – ‘Heat Dies Down’, ‘Learnt My Lesson Well’, ‘The Angry Mob’, ‘Highroyds’, ‘Everything Is Average Nowadays’. So half the album is already well known, and the rest is a mystery.

Many people found this a disappointment on first hearing. Of course the tracks aren’t another ‘I Predict A Riot’ which everyone knows and loves because they’ve been playing it for several years.

But then it is the same with ‘Employment’. ‘Caroline, Yes’ can grate on some people, as can ‘Team Mate’ – suddenly these are being held up as shining examples which the likes of ‘Love’s Not A Competition (But I’m Winning)’ don’t quite match up to. But the more you listen to ‘Yours Truly, Angry Mob’, the better it gets.

''Ruby' is a cracking opener. Depiste the heavy radio play, it's still an immense crowdpleaser and proves the Kaiser boys are at the top of their game. The problem with starting the album with the single is that plenty of people won't listen past that. Admit it; we've all done it with different bands.

'Highroyds' is the 'Saturday Night'-style, pure rock song. The middle of the album is a bit quieter and sometimes more grungy, sounding in some respects that garage rock incarnation Parva have popped up from the grave to say a quick hello ('Try Your Best').

‘Boxing Champ’ sees drummer Nick Hodgson take vocals for a soft piece. His voice isn’t as strong as Wilson’s, but it makes a nice change and a breather from the riotous ones before and after. It's this part which takes some getting used to if the only KC tracks you're familiar with are the punchy singles. It's quieter and more thoughful ('I Can Do It Without You' and 'My Kind Of Guy') but still with underlaying sadness and bitterness in places.

The lyrics still have their trademark cheeky sense of humour, such as 'Raise a glass or two / You raise a fist or two / And get a shopping basket wrapped round your head' ('The Angry Mob'). Well, it makes me smile. I would say album highlights are 'Learnt My Lesson Well' with its rock opening and occasional cool squeal from Whitey's guitar, 'The Angry Mob's brooding undercurrent and singalong 'We like who we like / We hate who we hate / But we're also easily swayed', plus rockers 'Heat Dies Down' and 'Everything Is Average Nowadays'.

The limited edition version also includes a DVD with six tracks from their gig in Berlin last winter.

http://www.kaiserchiefs.co.uk

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Patrick Wolf - The Magic Position
Loog / Polydor, 26th February 2007

Quirky, glittery, bright shorts and orange are all apt descriptions for the wonderboy that is Patrick Wolf, whose third album ‘The Magic Position’ opens with a sweeping violin-led ‘Overture’ and its sweet chirpy sounds.

The title track sparkles into life – it’s delightfully fun and different. It’s also the next single, out March 26th, so listen out for that. I'd say it was one of the high points on here.

‘Accident & Emergency’ is bleepy, whooshy, cheery, and anyone who’s seen the homemade-looking disco video will be familiar with this. It comes across better on record than when watching the accompanying film and being distracted by Wolf’s poses and the balloons around the room.

“Accident and emergency bring out the best in me.”'The Bluebell’ starts peacefully enough and finishes with a firecracker taking it straight into the start of bigger sister ‘Bluebells’. “I fell off the wagon…” Brooding underneath, this whole album glitters with unexpected yet funky sound effects and Wolf’s strong voice taking control of everything. ‘Magpie’ begins with dramatic piano and violins taking it into wistful realms with plenty of storytelling.

Suddenly the innocent childhood rhyme of ‘one for sorrow, two for joy’ sounds very menacing – I think that’s the voice of Marianne Faithfull, a guest collaboratoron here. (Dear Edward Larrikin also appears on 'Accident & Emergency'). ‘The Kiss’ is a short, drawn out series of notes, just one of the many mini tracks which sandwich this album together like jam. ‘Augustine’ begins with the poetic line “As the bell tower blocks the sunlight…” and is full of imagery. All the tracks seem to be attractive poems set to music. If you want to check out how Wolf’s progressed, see ‘Lycanthropy’ (2003) and ‘Wind In The Wires’ (2005).

Onto ‘Secret Garden’ – sadly now I’m starting to tire. I’m on a train with two Oxford students braying behind me and the delicate illusions crafted by Wolf are being smashed away by their loud talking, making it incredibly hard to pay attention to the images which are cropping up. This song is another short, tempting sliver which squeals into the thundering ‘Get Lost’. It’s clappy and Moogy, and one of the highlights for me. ‘The Stars’ is suitably twinkling briskly, and is followed by the short and dramatic ‘Finale’.

This is a top and arty album. ‘The Magic Position’ is beguiling, folky and electronic. If you like your music creative and curiously different to the usual commercial flumps which hog the charts, buy it.

http://www.patrickwolf.com