Rating: 5/10

It’s been three years since the Kaiser Chiefs last released an album, but I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t realise that. The group’s 2016 album ‘Stay Together‘ was a project filled with synth-pop tunes, but if was sadly a bit forgettable; peaking at number 4 in the album charts.

The group’s glory days of iconic tracks like ‘I Predict a Riot‘ and ‘Ruby‘ are far behind us, fifteen years behind us to be precise. Obviously in that time the group has matured and experimented with varied success, but for their 2019 release, ‘Duck‘, the band seeks to prove they still have the ability to create their iconic style of indie anthems.

The album’s opener and lead single, ‘People Know How To Love One Another‘, is a burst of energy. The track has a catchy enough hook, but like most of the project, it could be labelled as conventional ‘indie-pop’, rather than the ‘indie-rock’ of their successful early projects. This is of course not a bad change, and a definite improvement from last album’s obsession with synths; however this new formulaic pop is a bit less exciting than the Kaiser Chiefs I remember.

I’ve seen the Kaiser Chiefs live twice, but not for at least five years though. What I remember being struck with the most was the energy and enthusiasm of frontman Ricky Wilson. It is clear that some songs on this album have been crafted for live performances, with simple and catchy choruses on tracks like ‘Don’t Just Stand There, Do Something’ and on ‘Lucky Shirt’.

Sadly there are a few tracks on this album that are one-dimensional; songs like ‘Electric Heart’ and ‘The Only Ones’ are nice enough, but if listen in any depth to the tracks, you hear there’s nothing that impressive in the musical makeup or lyrical content.

I also couldn’t write this review without touching on the song “Wait”, which includes one of the strangest lyrics I’ve heard in 2019: “Gimme, gimme, gimme, celebrity bikini click bait. Give me Stacy Solomon, show me her abdominal plate.” The lyric may have a deep meaning, but it is just a bit odd.

If I had to describe this album in a single word, it would be ‘okay’. I don’t think it will top the charts and I don’t think any of the singles will get too much radio play. But it’s an okay enough album that will please any Kaiser Chief fans and serve as a good reminder for the rest of us to revisit their back catalogue of classic hits.