It's no secret that the Leeds-based
Kaiser Chiefs love the Jam. The band's 2005 excellent but uneven debut Employment was an infectious salute to all things mod and Brit-pop, boasting three solid singles ("I Predict a Riot", "Oh My God" and "Everyday I Love You Less and Less") that held great promise for future endeavors. On Yours Truly,
Angry Mob, the group takes a little more time in establishing its pop acumen, offering no immediate pay-offs despite its insatiable thirst for FM melody. Opener and first single "
Ruby", a rowdy, mid-tempo singalong that gets everything right but feels a little tossed-off and disposable, is indicative of
Angry Mob's first half - "
Heat Dies Down", "Love's Not a Competition (But I'm Winning)" and "
Highroyds" have all of their cogs well-oiled and reliably dressed, but there's nothing here that warrants the inevitable second listen in which a perfectly constructed pop song's true genius is revealed. To that end,
Angry Mob is creatively back loaded (though not genius), relying on a series of rewarding and occasionally subversive tracks like "
I Can Do It Without You", "
Learnt My Lesson Well", "
My Kind of Guy" and closer "
Retirement" to avoid the dreaded sophomore slump, revealing a band that is likely to continue pumping out albums with a few great songs on them until the requisite "Greatest Hits" collection arrives. [Yours Truly,
Angry Mob is also available in an edition with three bonus tracks.]
Yours Truly Angry Mob review by allmusic.com