DJ Urban Kobbb couldn’t get the Kaiser Chiefs’ Ruby (playing now) out of his head. Click the  button to hear another favorite, Retirement. |
Rather serendipitously, though, I was reminded of the powerful British post-punk bank, the Kaiser Chiefs.
Alben and I were in Ruby, a very hip Copenhagen nightspot. The Kaiser Chief’s song Ruby kept going through my head. It was very distracting. However, it wasn’t as distracting as the woman who didn’t know the proper way to wear her foundations (see picture, left).The next day, Alben and I were hanging out with some British and South Aftrican ex-patriots. When we told them we were at Ruby the night before, one of the fellows said, “Oh yeah, the Kaiser Chiefs!” At least I wasn’t alone in my distraction.
The Kaiser Chiefs haven’t really hit in the U.S. yet, but they are absolutely huge in the U.K. Their current album, Yours Truly, Angry Mob, hit No. 1 on the British charts, as did the first single from that album, Ruby. Angry Mob made it to 45 on the Billboard top 200.
In 2006, the Kaiser Chiefs won the Brit Awards for British Rock Act, British Live Act and British Group. They also won a New Music Express award for Best Dressed. I’m not sure whether or not Mr. Blackwell is on that panel.The Kaiser Chiefs owe a bit of their success to Scottish rockers, Franz Ferdinand. Both bands produce music that is rough-cut, unapologetic and makes people go absolutely ape on the dance floor. I thought “the pogo” died in the early ’80s, but it’s alive and well at both bands’ live performances, which are reportedly more like raves than concerts.
It’s not fair to suggest that the Kaiser Chiefs are necessarily influenced by Franz Ferdinand, it’s just that F.F. broke through first. Their success preceded that of the Kaiser Chiefs by about three years, and their hit Take Me Out has been one of the biggest songs of the last five years. That success has paved the way for hard-driving guitar bands like the Chiefs.I wish I could break down the Kaiser Chiefs in a more technical way, but their music is just too straightforward. If you liked The Knack or The Kings from the ’80s, I think you’ll like them. If you listened to Big Audio Dynamite or Blur in the ’90s, give them a try. If The Fratellis or Caesars do it for you today, I guarantee you’ll like them.
Whomever you compare them to, the Kaiser Chiefs will stand out as a rock-solid group that delivers awesome performances in studio and on stage.
kaiserchiefs.co.uk
myspace.com/kaiserchiefs
