Kaiser Chiefs: Duck review – stuck in a pre-internet nostalgia nirvana

Kurt vs Frasier (The Battle for Seattle) isn’t exactly the song title you’d expect on a Kaiser Chiefs album but, then again, what can you really expect from a Kaiser Chiefs album in 2019?

Much like a cup of tea you made two hours ago and forgot to drink, the latest from the Leeds group begins and ends without serving much of a purpose. Attempting some sharp observations on society on lead single Record Collection, frontman Ricky Wilson curses the grip that the internet has on us.

Referencing the impact of Cambridge Analytica on elections, he overlooks the rise of classism, racism and outright hatred that came with it, and then dilutes those problems on People Know How to Love One Another, suggesting that we “look after someone else ’cos being together’s all we need”.

Fetishising the pre-internet days of vinyl and landlines, love songs come in the shape of corporate analogies on Target Market and the two-point-four children fantasy of Golden Oldies.

Relying on meaningless messages and cheery melodies that we thought died with the great NME indie bang of the early ’00s, this lacklustre Duck never really takes flight.

[ kaiserchiefs.com ]