3

Music IS a competition, and they're losing.

People like the Kaiser Chiefs not because of their songwriting or sensitivity but because they sing songs that sound great when five or more boozed up lads sing it on their way home from the pub and because they shout "ooooohhhh" in all of their songs. It was annoying if you weren't on board but it was a popular formula that defined the band. Taking that away would spell disaster, surely?

That is what we have with 'Love's Not A Competition (But I'm Winning)', a stripped down ballad that shows off Kaiser Chiefs' songwriting talents. This is somewhat of a problem, mainly because they don't have any. What we have is a cold emotional, dreary song with none of the charm of their earlier work or the sassy spikiness of their more recent output. It's worth buying if you need to get your kids off to sleep but otherwise just leave it well alone.