First Look - Kaiser Chiefs

Kaiser Chiefs drummer Nick Hodgson was excited to be playing his first American show earlier this month in Los Angeles. There was a minor problem though: the airline lost his luggage and Southern California was experiencing nonstop rain.

However, things quickly changed for the better for the Leeds-based quintet.

"Once the airline found [the luggage] and called us, as we took the car back to the airport, we heard our song on the radio and the sun came out. Very good."

Thanks to the recent resurgence of robotic, artsy Brit-rock from bands like Franz Ferdinand, The Futureheads and Bloc Party, Kaiser Chiefs' wild blend of eclectic pop styles--as if Blur, The Kinks and The Yardbirds had a jam session--seems poised to catch on with American audiences.

Word-of-mouth advertising and heavy airplay of the single "I Predict a Riot" on L.A.'s famous alternative station, KROQ, seems to have kicked the buzz machine into high gear. Hodgson said he and his bandmates were amazed to see lines outside L.A.'s Cinespace for their recent showcase, and to see the audience singing along during the gig.

Judging by its 30-minute, 8-song set at L.A.'s Cinespace, the group works and plays hard and has a great time. The band displayed the wild singing of vocalist Ricky Wilson, soulful guitar work of Andrew "Whitey" White and the shaggy bass efforts of mop-topped Simon Rix. All of this gelled with style from keyboardist Nick "Peanut" Baines--thanks in part to his rat-pack fashion sense.

Kaiser Chiefs' debut album, the appropriately titled "Employment," hits North American stores on March 15.

The group will be touring the U.S. this spring in "very short bursts" Hodgson said. "We're massive fans of Blur and we share the same producer [Stephen Street] so we'd learn about how they'd tour the U.S. for three to four months and go completely mental. We'd like to keep our brains healthy."

Taken from - http://www.livedaily.com/news/7593.html

Electronica is Dead... Long live Rock

I gotta say, I was looking forward to three new albums in the last year that were "comebacks" in the techno/electronica realm. However, all three have fallen flat on their butts.

Fatboy Slim - 'Palookaville'
The Prodigy - 'Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned'
The Chemical Brothers - 'Push the Button'

All three just don't hit the mark like their previous albums used to. Either the band has reorganized (Prodigy), the time between albums was too great (Fatboy Slim) or maybe the drugs are wearing off (Chemical Brothers)?

I dunno, but its a sad day for electronic music if this is what we need to show for latest electronic releases by "established" artists in the realm.