Education, Education, Education & War
Kaiser Chiefs’ fifth album is proof that the veteran band can survive the departure of drummer and chief songwriter Nick Hodgson. The laughs you hear during “Misery Company” could be the sound of the band shaking off the loss with defiant pride. New drummer Vijay Mistri is only expected to keep time here, so it’s up to singer Ricky Wilson to make sure the band has new songs for him to wander the stage. The opening tunes sport a grandness that means power chords, walls of sound, and choruses that leave plenty of opportunities for the entire audience to sing or hum along with the indelible hooks. Of course, how well these instantly catchy tunes hold up over the long haul is for the long haul to determine, but “The Factory Gates,” “Coming Home,” and “Ruffians on Parade” all carry their Britpop credentials in their front pocket. Even when they slow down the pace for “Meanwhile Up in Heaven,” it’s with an ear for the hook. Kaiser Chiefs are aware that their moment of cultural dominance has passed. It’s all the more reason to try harder to unite a grand audience behind their songs.
Check out our album review of Artist's Education, Education, Education & War on Rolling Stone.com.
Written in multiple cities and countries and recorded in Atlanta, Georgia with producer Ben Allen, Education, Education, Education & War promises the golden vistas of a new frontier, yet delivers once again the quintessential Kaiser Chiefs album.
A decade of being together, by the time of their fifth album, Education, Education, Education & War, Kaiser Chiefs are on autopilot. What used to be a middle-finger-in-the-air, invigorating post-punk/New Wave ragefest you could pogo to now sounds like Kai
Album review: Kaiser Chiefs - Education, Education, Education & War. "They fall further into the abyss of bands that have little new to offer in the current musical climate…"
<p>The first Kaiser Chiefs album since Nick Hodgson left and Ricky Wilson took a seat on The Voice is not as bad as you'd think, writes <strong>Kitty Empire</strong></p>
The Kaiser Chiefs return with intentions of political comment and anti-war rhetoric, but the music just can't carry the weight, writes <strong>Harriet Gibsone</strong>
Kaiser Chiefs - Education, Education, Education & War review: Kaiser Chiefs learning how to play themselves once again.
The Kaiser Chiefs never quite measured up to Blur or Pulp, but their fifth album has plenty of accessible, nod-along tracks, says Helen Brown
New line-up, new experiments - but are Ricky Wilson's crew still Chiefs? By Lisa-Marie Ferla