We have to at least be aware that the entire reason that these lads are a thing is that Sean released their first single, Oh My God, right, on Drowned in Sound Records right?
I liked the novel idea when they originally released The Future is Medieval where you picked out of 20 tracks a 10 track album and created your own artwork for it, right? Iâve never actually listened to the ârealâ album after doing my own one and enjoying it at the time. Little Shocks is a great single.
They were fucking EVERYWHERE when I was in uni. Cannot fathom their popularity then or now. Suspect I may have accidentally seen them live at various festivals at least twice which is salt for the wound. And they had a song about eating crisps for dinner.
Moderately more irritating than bathing in liquid histamine.
Saw them a couple of times at festivals when the first album came out, and there is no denying that they were a lot of fun back then.
Then saw them again last year at Latitude as Offspring I had somehow realised that they were playing and is a big fan of Ricky Wilson from his CBBC show:
They were rubbish tbf. That said, they were better than many of their contemporaries back in the day so Iâm not giving them a oneâŠ
At the same Reading Festival that I didnât lay down to listen to The Shins at (2004), I saw them in that same âCarlingâ tent on a whim. And you know what? I loved them! I came away from that barely attended show and total fan boy. But it wasnât long after that their ubiquity became grating and everything about them became more and more annoying. I bought the debut album, but I never got all the way through it, declaring it was âlike Menswear but worseâ.
I never want to hear Ruby again in my life and the hat is rubbish.
1/5
Some people I know from Leeds were early supporters and were mainstays at signings (not gigs beyond the first few albums tho) and that The Voice stint really went to his head.
Nick Hodgson is really nice tho. Saw his first solo show supporting The Cribs.
Good line from the Kaiser boys right there. I hated them when I was a little youth and they were big with the boys in school, but over the years Iâve soften on the daft buggers. Theyâre naff and they know it. Iâd never listen to them in purpose but theyâve got something to them. And reading the list of albums and singles that donât exist gave me a couple of sensible chuckles.
Canât give more than a 2, but itâs a good honest solid 2.
Not really in to their music, but I think theyâre all decent eggs. They were all pretty active in the local Leeds scene and worked hard to get âbigâ. Similar to what someone said above, I donât think they were ever striving for indie cool, more to be a popular band (with normal people, not internet music nerds). Can certainly write a chorus, and I donât begrudge yer man Ricky his relative fame. He seems like a nice person. And a name inspired by Lucas Radebe earns them an extra point. And they played a festival literally a few hundred metres from my house last weekend and were significantly less loud and irritating than Richard Ashcroft as I was trying to get to sleep, so kudos for that too.
They came out when I was 16 and impressionable and it felt nice to support a âhappeningâ band and collect the singles and read about them in the NME each week.
Saw them at loads of festivals around that time, at the Ally Pally with Graham Coxon supporting and it all culminated in their Glasto slot shortly after Ruby (bafflingly) went to #1. Got the second album and it was alright. The song (Highroyds) they played on the Employment tour sounded massive and then on the album it wasnât that great. The last song âRetirementâ was good fun.
Didnât get that third album, even tho it quickly followed the previous one. Havenât heard anything since. That âcreate you own albumâ, although a huge misstep and despite getting some discussion on Radio 1(!), was doomed to fail⊠but 23 songs out of that, Iâm kind of tempted to listen through it just to see how they got to their âfinalâ track list. Smacks a bit of Ashâs A-Z series though.
I think this sums up my experience of them as well. Saw them opening that NME tour with Bloc Party? Futureheads? and had fun, but then started all the âbands who open the NME tour always go on to become hugeâ almost like they were going to be big by default and like you say it just became very, very annoying.
They donât even bring back any teenage nostalgia or anything, theyâre just crap.
Also want to that tour and was still in âfanboyâ mode at that stage. But the novelty wore off very quickly. I was also 28 by that point, so will never have the teenage nostalgia thing
