To be innovative and brave in the record industry is certainly, for most artists a given when it comes to performing and recording. But with piracy on the increase, being bold with a records release is a minefield. Albums leak sometimes months before their time, leaving bands to recoup the cost with extensive touring. The CD is dead, download is king, because of this, bands need to try some gimmick or risk being dropped. Radiohead (and prior, The Crimea - but no one remembers them) tried the “pay what you like” scheme a few years back, and in some ways it worked - although true sales figures were never established.
Obviously, because of this surreptitious marketing scheme do these gimmicks help, or hinder sales? The Kaiser Chiefs, it seems are pioneers to a new concept entirely, having worked with ad agency Wieden+Kennedy (you didn’t think bands came up with this on their own did you??) a unique release - sprung on the public with no fanfare, it could be the first bespoke album. Allowing you to pick 10, from a selection of 20 tracks, decide the running order, create the artwork and then pay £7.50 for the privilege is certainly a radical and exciting prospect. Furthermore, you then have access to a HTML code, which you can place on your own website - selling “your copy” of the album. For everyone you sell, you make £1. Ingenious? Possibly...
The problem with this concept of course, is that this is not that different from just picking the tracks you like from iTunes. The concept is just stretched to a fixed price, of course if you are a hardcore fan - you have to pay twice for all the songs. As a result, reviewing the content is a nightmare - each music publication could in theory be reviewing a very different album, until of course, the impending CD release, probably based on the popularity of the songs bought in the custom package (NOTE: this is now scheduled for 27th June).
After repeat listens, the initial excitement of an album you have “created” fades and you are left with a collection of fairly mediocre b-sides. Then the self doubt comes in - you wish you had picked different tracks. Listening to it over again to try and make sense of your creation before finally admitting to yourself that this isn’t the fun poppy album you were hoping for. Sure, they have ‘matured’ as a band, but surely that shouldn’t mean that you are incapable of writing hooks?
There is a distinct lack of bouncy, fun pop anthems like the bands previous material. The future is medieval feels utterly joyless and relatively bleak in comparison to their other work. Anthemic chorus lines, playful lyrics and fun keyboard stabs have been replaced with lyrical paranoia, dark 80’s human league-esque synths and bass.
As a collection of songs, its a few reasonable tracks amidst a very clever marketing experiment, perhaps its the only way they could have convinced us to buy the tracks in the first place.
HOWEVER... I have compiled a tracklist based on the more upbeat tracks in the collection.
If you buy the album, my recommended tracklist would be:
1. Back in December
2. Little Shocks
Cousin in the bronx
4. Dead or in serious trouble
5. Long way from celebrating
6. Saying something
7. Can’t mind my own business
8. Problem solved
9. My place is here
10. Starts with nothing
As a whole collection of songs - 5/10
Based on my recommended tracklist - 6/10
Based on the CD release - 5/10
UPDATE:
The CD release contains the following tracks:
Little Shocks
Things Change
Long Way From Celebrating
Starts With Nothing
Out Of Focus
Dead Or In Serious Trouble
When All Is Quiet
Kinda Girl You Are - NOT PREVIOUSLY RELEASED
Man On Mars
Child Of The Jago
Heard It Break
Coming Up For Air
If You Will Have Me
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