Product Description

'Employment' is the debut album from the Leeds-formed five piece, Kaiser Chiefs. Their sound draws influence from a variety of British guitar pop bands from the sixties to the nineties. The XTC & Jam-influenced hit single 'I Predict A Riot' is included alongside the Pulp-esque 'Oh My God'.

Track Listing

1. Everyday I Love You Less and Less
2. I Predict A Riot
3. Modern Way
4. Na Na Na Na Naa
5. You Can Have It All
6. Oh My God
7. Born To Be A Dancer
8. Saturday Night
9. What Did I Ever Give You
10. Time Honoured Tradition
11. Caroline, Yes
12. Team Mate

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #570 in Music
• Released on: 2005-03-07
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 44 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
On Employment, raffish, trilby-clad young Leeds quintet Kaiser Chiefs prove themselves the logical heirs to the Britpop throne previously warmed by the likes of Blur and Supergrass, twinning expectant verses with rollicking choruses and generally acting very much like indie-rock's latest swaggering young Jack the Lads.

There's no doubt, the Kaisers know their rock history: "Oh My God" and "Every Day I Love You Less and Less" barrel along with something of Madness' playful charm, while "You Can Have It All" and the lush "Caroline, Yes" appear to be conscious nods to the sleepy, harmony-laden Californian pop vision of Brian Wilson. The lyrics of frontman Ricky Wilson, however, are rooted in a very English sensibility--one often traditional and occasionally, bizarrely archaic: "Walking through town is quite scary/ It's not very pretty, I tell thee," he gasps on adrenaline-fuelled urban nightmare "I Predict A Riot". It's the sort of pleasingly unusual idiosyncrasy that sees Employment stand out from the fashionable indie pack, and assuming the Chiefs can continue to keep their foibles the right side of irksome, any attitude is thoroughly justified. --Louis Pattison

About the Artists
Sometimes the greatest success stories sprout from the tiniest of ambitions. When Kaiser Chiefs formed up in Leeds around the summer of 2003, their aim wasn't to conquer stadiums and change the world. Instead, these five Britpop-obsessed oddballs began plotting a rather more modest plan. In the shadowy corners of clubs and venues across the city Ricky Wilson (lead vocals, owner of stylish blue and orange suit), Andrew 'Whitey' White (guitar), Simon Rix (bass), Nick 'Peanut' Baines (keyboards and modeller of impressive pork-pie hats) and Nick Hodgson (drums and vocals) decided to form a band that would harness the awesome capability of being able to blag an early slot at the following year's Leeds Festival.

The Kaisers' story actually begins some time before they'd decided to name themselves after a successful South African football team. School friends Simon, Peanut and Nick had been playing together in various bands since the age of 15 before spying art school graduate and restless-ball-of-energy Ricky singing with a Rolling Stones tribute band.

Right now, everybody wants a piece of the Kaiser Chiefs. Blur producer Stephen Street was so bowled over he offered his services for debut album Employment. A barrage of bouncing art-pop brilliance, it's scheduled to soundtrack 2005 from the minute it hits stereos this March.

From the Artist
god... even we hate it

Customer Reviews

They're a comedy band, right?
A quite dreadful album from a truly awful mob. They're a comedy band, right? This album sounds like a Weird Al Yankovic tribute to Franz Ferdinand covering XTC. The fact that there are 108 used & new copies available (at the time of writing) on Amazon Marketplace does suggest that this album does not endure. I saw them about a year ago following a Rufus Wainwright performance on a TV show. The gulf in the quality of music and style (style isn't everything, but it counts for something) was staggering. Avoid.

excellent debut
"Excellent debut album ! favourite tracks...Everyday I Love You Less and Less,I Predict A Riot,Modern Way,You Can Have It All"

A bit Blur-lite
Watching the TV coverage of the Glastonbury Festival in 2005, Kaiser Chiefs seemed to be on all the time. I'm not sure how you get your band to be featured but whatever was done, it certainly worked as Employment ended the year as one of the biggest selling albums. But is it any good?

Yes it is good though, to my ears, an inferior more poppy version of Blur circa Park Life without there being a musician as capable of adding something memorable or distinctive to the more average songs as Graham Coxon frequently did for the Essex four-piece. Indeed, you can imagine Blur writing and performing most of the songs on Employment which, not surprisingly, shares in Stephen Street the same producer as Park Life.

Having said this, there are some very good songs on Employment such as the exciting opener Everyday I Love You Less And Less and I Predict A Riot with its clever, caustic description of the sort of activities which go on in most town centres every Saturday night. Other highlights include Na Na Na Na Naa with its wiggy guitar solo and the pleasing melody and sentiment behind You Can Have It All. The equivalent song to Badhead perhaps...

Employment covers a number of styles though, once again, these are similar forms to those covered by a certain other band. Maybe I'm being a bit harsh as it is a good album, albeit an over-rated one, though hopefully subsequent Kaiser Chief releases will have influences deriving from more than one act.