Don’t get too excited about the seemingly audacious pairing of indie veterans Kaiser Chiefs and super-producer Nile Rodgers. The latter has foraged the celebratory, stomping chorus of ‘Feeling Alright’ to provide the post-covid boost which opens Kaiser Chiefs’ Easy Eighth Album, a jokey title they might come to regret, given the throwaway, threadbare nature of following track ‘Beautiful Girl’.

Rudimental’s Amir Amor takes the production reins for this album, as the Leeds quintet steer an outright pop course through jolly Eurovision boy-band confection ‘How 2 Dance’, burnished pop-rocker ‘Sentimental Love Songs’ (which is saved by some stratospheric guitar lines), and ‘The Job Centre Shuffle’, a sprinkling of indie-funk ingredients in search of a song. Recent single ‘Burning In Flames’ is more cohesive with its ecstatic dance feel, while ‘Reasons To Stay Alive’ adopts a Goldfrapp-like industrial glam-disco groove; and ‘Jealousy’ nods to The Housemartins’ ‘Happy Hour’ but with a far more processed sound.

The cocky pop of ‘Noel Groove’ leads to a sleek rockier chorus. Frontman Ricky Wilson deploys his effective higher register, and it’s 2005 all over again as The Cribs pitch up on backing vocals. Anyone hoping for a sniff of a song as good as ‘I Predict A Riot’ will be sorely disappointed. Closing track ‘The Lads’, a non-laddy celebration of male friendship, is among the stronger melodies here, but even with bonus chanty chorus, it’s not such an illustrious way to conclude Kaiser Chiefs’ underwhelming eighth album. 

Kaiser Chiefs’ Easy Eighth Album is released by V2 Records Benelux on Friday 1 March; Kaiser Chiefs are on tour Thursday 11–Sunday 21 April.