When Kaiser Chiefs' 2005 debut Employment was released, it signaled a debut by a band from the UK that had a swagger that was cocksure and was heavily indebted to The Jam. But in 2007 all that promise was squandered on Yours Truly, Angry Mob, a follow-up record that was highly unfocused and frankly a giant disappointment. Seemingly self-aware of their sink or swim situation, these Brits went out and hired the "it" producer of the moment Mark Ronson who has spun pure gold out of records from the likes of Lily Allen and Amy Winehouse respectively. What has transpired is Off With Their Heads, an album that is only moderately decent but is still nowhere near as good as Employment seemed to offer for the future.

On Off With Their Heads, Kaiser Chiefs seem to be channeling early 80's XTC and that's fine, but by recalling the work of others it suffers from being unmemorable itself. Ronson's production work here is pedestrian at best and Kaiser Chiefs seem to just be going through the motions trying to see if they can get anything to stick. To their credit, there are a few tracks here that are superb. "Never Miss A Beat" and "Like It Too Much" are two of the best tracks that these lads have ever come up with. But the middle portion of Off With Their Heads is filled with too much average-to-mediocre, that never spark any real interest. I think that "for now" Kaiser Chiefs have earned themselves a pass, but if their next record fails to measure up to their initial promise, it may indeed mean Off with Their Heads, and so much for their U.S. distribution deal.