Pitchfork

They predicted a riot, and now they've got an Angry Mob. As previously reported, Brit buzz band Kaiser Chiefs return with Yours Truly, Angry Mob-- out March 27 on Universal in North America, and February 26 everywhere else-- and a continent-spanning tour.

As the UK press darlings brace for fan reception to their sophomore outing, Pitchfork caught up with genial lead vocalist Ricky Wilson for a chat about leaps in songwriting, onstage leaps, and a certain life-saving leap over a speeding vehicle last spring.

First and foremost, however, just how many "na"s can fans of 2005 debut Employment expect from Yours Truly, Angry Mob? "I don't do any 'na's, I think. Nick [Hodgson, drummer] might, but it's because he doesn't bother learning the lyrics! He goes in and does these backing vocals, and he just makes it up as he goes along.

"The thing is, with the first [record], we needed that, because we were always a support band. We needed to get the audience to sing along, and that was the best way of doing it: having no lyrics and having big bits that went, "oooh," like that. We don't need them anymore. We've got one song that's got a big 'la la la' in it, but that's about it, I think."

In addition to the move away from catchy playground taunts, Wilson's confident that Angry Mob marks a step forward for the band on the whole. "I would say the album, if it wasn't better than the first one, would never be released. We don't want to be one of those bands that just get worse. We think it's better and it's the best we can do at this moment in time. So if it's not good enough, then we're in the wrong job. But I think it's fucking great, so I'm happy.

"The record is worth hearing," the Kaiser Chief continued. "I know all bands say that, but if they didn't, I'd be worried."

If Wilson sounds proud, maybe he has a right to be. Apart from the touch of producer/mixer Stephen Street and mixer Cenzo Townshend, the Kaisers pretty much went it alone on Angry Mob. "We made a conscious decision not to have any other musicians involved on it...everything that's played on it is played by us, because we've got no reason to hide behind anyone else. If we want something to sound big, surely we should be able to do that on our own."

Big-sounding first single "Ruby" and its Gulliver's Travels-inspired video have already hit the airwaves, and while Ricky claims the song doesn't refer to any Ruby in particular, it does seek to embody a particular moment in the cycle of love.

"We'd never really written a song about girls in a nice way before. We've written songs about girls in nasty ways, but I think we're mellowing. It's kind of about-- you know that thing where you really like someone, and then you're hanging around them for a bit-- they're in your group of friends or something like that-- and then the first time they use your name to ask you something? It's a bit of a moment. I like that bit."

"You know, you'll be in a pub or something and they'll go, 'Excuse me...Ricky?' And I'll be like, 'Oh, you know my name!'

"So it's about that split second where you're happy," added Wilson, "before you're going out with her and everything starts going shit...then you get the fuel to write more nasty songs!"

Their songs are one thing, but Ricky doesn't fancy the Kaisers a very nasty lot at all. In fact, quite the opposite. "We've always had a bit of a reputation of being nice-- not nice as in overly nice, but just pleasant. We find it easier to be pleasant than nasty.

"[But] since we've got this reputation of being nice, people think they can walk all over you. And then it means they're extra shocked when we don't want to do something. We've got all these people crying about the fact that we won't, I don't know, play a certain song. So my New Year's Resolution is to say 'no' a lot more."

It's that attitude, in fact, that underlies Wilson's favorite track off Yours Truly, Angry Mob: "It's called 'My Kind of Guy'. It's about halfway through, and it's quite menacing. It sounds like something from a twisted musical. It's about-- if you're a bit nasty you'll always be better [off] in life."

Nasty or no, this means Ricky's shaking his head at plenty of things that depart from his chosen course in music-making. Acting gigs? Forget it, says the Kaiser Chief.

"We're concentrating on being a band. We're in a band-- it's not a launch pad for anybody's acting career. [I] don't want to win Best Female at the Oscars. The band is the most important thing.

"I get offered these weird things all the time...just because we find it easier to talk than most bands, we get put in this category of, 'Oh maybe we should get Ricky Wilson to be in 'Dr. Who'' or whatever!"

However, "If they'd asked me to be in Star Wars or something, I'd probably have to say 'yes.'"

Wilson's not down with camera phones, either. "I don't understand why people watch our gigs through a mobile phone screen. We're actually here, you know! Use your eyes, and you can remember it in your head." Ixnay on a flashy multimedia stage show too. "You know when you see people and you think they're trying to hide behind all that kind of crap? I mean, we like big lights and a big light show, but we don't hire some guy to make films to project behind us, just like we don't have costume changes."

Wilson also gave the "thanks but no thanks" to a car company recently. "[They] wanted me to present a program about a car, and I'm like, 'We don't even sell our songs to adverts, so I'm hardly going to present a car program.' They'd probably give me a car, but what am I going to do with a car? I'm always on fucking tour!"

Um, maybe he could practice leaping over it? Last spring Ricky had a much-publicized run-in with a car that sent him to a hospital with a broken toe and some bruises. The talk about town was that a "trademark Ricky jump" saved the man's life.

While Wilson's known to get animated onstage-- "I can't help it. It's like when you're really drunk, and you're dancing like an idiot. You're enjoying yourself, but if you ever saw a video back of it, you'd cringe like fuck."-- he admitted his car-defying leap wasn't all that.

"I jumped over the car, but I didn't make it, and it hit me in the shins. That kind of flipped me into the windscreen, and I smashed the windscreen, flew over the top of the car, and landed on my knees behind it. And I was so pissed off! I stood up and chased the car for a bit, and it was only after about ten seconds that I realized I was in serious pain, and I had to fall over.

"It was pretty weird, because it was only when I'd gotten to the hospital, and they said I had this weird fluid in my leg that was making it get bigger and bigger, and they had to puncture it. They actually said at one point that I was in danger of losing my leg. I was freaking out! And then, when I was all right, I just cried like a baby."

Worst of all, the coppers didn't even nab the baddie.

"They can catch me doing 35 miles an hour in a 30 zone, going through Leeds, right? But a guy going through a red light at 60 miles an hour, running someone over, they can't catch him! What's that?

"It shouldn't be too hard to find a small red car with a smashed windscreen going through Leeds," said Wilson, adding with a laugh: "He was probably an Arctic Monkeys fan or something."

In fact, Wilson has naught but love for the Arctics-- although he's not so keen on what's followed in the band's wake. "I love the Arctic Monkeys, I think they're great. I think they're a breath of fresh air.

"The only problem is, they kind of opened the door-- guitar music in Britain is really good at the moment, but when something gets popular, the big record companies pounce on it, and just start signing loads of crap. Because they think, 'We can make some money out of this.' And that's what they did, because they think kids in school like guitar music more than shitty pop music, but then you get in a glut of really shit guitar bands...making guitar music look bad."

Wilson took the high road, however, and neglected to cite any particular culprits. "There's loads of them, but I don't want to be drawn into naming names. People slug us off all the time, and they get lots of column inches out of it...Liam Gallagher slugs people off a lot, but I can't do it. I'll leave that kind of nonsense to him."

Catch the Kaisers on tour this spring with the Walkmen, Annuals, the Little Ones, and more special guests.

Riots:

02-03 Berlin, Germany - Columbia Club *
02-21 Manchester, England - Apollo #
02-22 Manchester, England - Apollo ^%
02-23 Wolverhampton, England - Civic Hall #
02-25 Wolverhampton, England - Civic Hall ^%
02-26 Newcastle, England - Academy #
02-27 Newcastle, England - Academy ^%
03-02 London, England - Shepherds Bush Empire %@
03-03 London, England - Shepherds Bush Empire #
03-04 London, England - Shepherds Bush Empire ^%
03-06 Glasgow, Scotland - Academy #
03-07 Glasgow, Scotland - Academy ^%
03-09 Cardiff, Wales - University Great Hall #
03-10 Cardiff, Wales - University Great Hall ^%
03-15 Tokyo, Japan - Quattro Club
04-06 Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory $
04-07 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club $
04-09 Boston, MA - Avalon $
04-12 New York, NY - Roseland Ballroom $
04-17 Montreal, Quebec - Spectrum $
04-18 Toronto, Ontario - Kool Haus $
04-20 Chicago, IL - Vic Theatre +
04-21 Minneapolis, MN - Trocadero +
04-24 Vancouver, British Columbia - Commodore Ballroom +
04-25 Seattle, WA - Showbox Theatre +
04-26 Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom +
04-27 San Francisco, CA - Warfield +
07-13 Madrid, Spain - Boadilla del Monte (Summercase Festival)
07-14 Barcelona, Spain - Parc del Forum (Summercase Festival)

* with Brakes
# with the Long Blondes, the Pigeon Detectives
^ with 1990s
% with Ripchord
@ with the Twang
$ with Annuals
+ with the Little Ones