So far the signs have all been positive. The two singles released have been good. No, scratch that, the two singles released have been ace: ‘I Predict A Riot’ with it’s Madness-through-a-blender crash and terrace-shout chorus, still just about remains on the right side of the divide between quirky and novelty and ‘Oh My God’, re-recorded since it’s initial release, sounds absolutely fucking massive.

And there are at least a fistful of others that could quite easily be released and proceed to take over the world. Or at least indie discos with sticky floors: ‘Everyday I Love You Less and Less’ draws a line between The Jam and The Clash and then has a wicked time pogoing itself along it; ‘Na Na Na Na Naa’ sounds like Damon Albarn being dragged through a Theremin, but not before being shaken so hard one of Blur’s choruses falls out of him, landing smack in the middle of ‘The Modern Way’, and ‘You Can Have It All’ goes through apologetic, to indifferent, to unrepentant within a single lyric, (“It’s not my fault / I don’t care / I don’t regret a single thing). It also stands out as Employment’s most touching moment. Through it all, Ricky Wilson’s lyrics mark him out as some kind of cross between Morrissey and Fred Dibnah. Which is quite a combination, I tell thee.

But hang on, that’s already references to The Clash, The Jam, Madness, Morrissey, Blur and Pulp? Is Employment just a bunch of other peoples work conjoined to fit nefarious means? Well no because, and here’s the thing, while the Kaisers do quite shamelessly draw on the ancestry that started with punk and passed through Britpop – Employment is littered with musical points that scream ‘Britishness’ – using them descriptively is little more than a critical crutch. They get away with it because it isn’t about imitation, it’s about paying reverence to your past in order to more suitably continue a bloodline they could end up being part of. Also, it doesn’t even begin to explain quite how much fun the whole thing is.

Employment isn’t all biscuits and gravy though, no matter how close the first half-dozen tracks come. The standard of the second half just can’t match the first: ‘Saturday Night’ contains an uneven balance of great to terrible lines scrapping with each other for prominence; ‘What Did I Ever Give You’ isn’t entirely successful in dissuading you that trying to be The Specials was a bad idea and ‘Time Honoured Tradition’ is just a ska-too-far, but none are bad per se, they are just a bit lightweight compared to what came earlier.

But ultimately it doesn't matter since, if you’ll excuse the pun, Employment is an absolute riot of a record.

(4/5)

Release Date: 07 March 2005

Employment