The Futureheads
The Chaos


3.0
good

Review

by Rudy K. EMERITUS
May 30th, 2010 | 19 replies


Release Date: 2010 | Tracklist

Review Summary: A kiss with a fist is better than none.

Sometimes you fall in love with something so fast and so hard that you become willing to forgive and forget even the harshest of transgressions. You get a glimpse of something true, something good, and you practically beg for more, oblivious to the fact that what was once the norm is now the exception. Relationships like this generally tend to self-destruct within a few years, but I still haven’t come to my senses when it comes to Sunderland, England foursome the Futureheads. Their 2004 self-titled debut was such a tasty slab of post-punk, that year’s rage, done so right that it was nearly impossible not to pogo along with. It was all sharp guitar angles, frantic stop-start rhythms, and irrepressibly poppy four-part harmony sung in those thick accents, heavy debts to XTC and Wire notwithstanding. Then came 2006’s disappointing, down tempo News and Tributes, then the bland, straightforward power-pop of This Is Not The World, and I was always about ready to call it quits, but there would be that one or two couple songs that harkened back to what this band could be capable of.

Alas, I must love abusive relationships, because The Chaos, while a definite upgrade from their previous efforts, still finds the band seemingly stuck on autopilot. It does find them happily return to their herky-jerky roots, where a song is more likely to come to a rapid full stop then all of a sudden burst into a punk singalong rather than flow along on vanilla power chords and routine drumming. It’s just that bright ray of hope that will no doubt have me purchasing whatever they release next, the promise of more songs like the brilliant thunder of the title track or the jagged pop glory of lead single “Struck Dumb.” Indeed, The Chaos contains more than its fair share of tunes that would have stood up well on their debut, and some, like the pile driving ADD rhythm of standout “The Collector” or the spacey, spiraling guitar work on “Jupiter,” that surpass it. Even a fairly by-the-numbers cry for radio play like “Heartbeat Song” succeeds on a sugary melody and singer Barry Hyde’s distinctive staccato yelp.

But whereas The Futureheads took post-punk in strange and new directions that left you disoriented as often as they exhilarated, The Chaos seems content to beat the standard formula to death on too many songs. “This is the Life” is all happy-go-lucky guitar bursts and machine-gun drumming with a change-of-pace chorus and gang vocals, but after the similar structures of “I Can Do That” and “Stop the Noise,” it’s more than a little predictable. It’s not that the songs are bad, or that the band is lacking energy (something that seemed definitely possible on their last two records); it’s that, frankly, the melodies and hooks just aren’t there. The Futureheads’ great secret wasn’t that the band could do a damn good XTC impression; it was that the songwriting was innovative, impressive, and most important of all, engaging. Their well-defined sense of fun is here, without a doubt, and the energy is at a high since their debut, but it just lacks that extra oomph, that bit of melodic weirdness and fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants fearlessness that used to make the Futureheads such a unique face in the post-punk revival. But it’s still a much better record than I would have expected given their past directions, and the sly bastards remembered to throw in just enough tunes to keep me a believer, at least for another couple of years. I’ll always have my “Hounds of Love” cover to go crying back to when they hurt my feelings.



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user ratings (23)
3.2
good

Comments:Add a Comment 
klap
Emeritus
May 31st 2010


12410 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

ironically my feelings on the Futureheads is analogous to my feelings on alcohol, although I would probably rate that a 3.5

Waior
May 31st 2010


11778 Comments


you're so allegorical sometimes

really excellent review, entertaining and informative and rudy klapper

never enjoyed this band but i haven't heard their first

klap
Emeritus
May 31st 2010


12410 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

check out my track of the day and see what you think

VicariousIntent
May 31st 2010


1638 Comments


Nice FatM reference in the summary. Never been really into post punk, but perhaps I should give this bands debut a shot?

klap
Emeritus
May 31st 2010


12410 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

haha glad someone caught it. yeah it's a lot different from most of what came out during that whole binge its a nice shift

Mordecai.
May 31st 2010


8410 Comments


album art and title remind me of Warhammer 40k

AggravatedYeti
May 31st 2010


7683 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

this basically sums up everything I feel about this album.

nice.

a solid disappointment, but first 2 tracks rule.

Phil
May 31st 2010


1473 Comments


Hmmmm, a Wire and Florence and the Machine references. Sounds semi-interesting.

Ire
June 1st 2010


41944 Comments


Florence reference was lol.

Mordecai.
June 1st 2010


8410 Comments


does no one else see the 40k similarities here or just me?

klap
Emeritus
June 1st 2010


12410 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

i dk what that is help me out

Mordecai.
June 1st 2010


8410 Comments


[img]http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh19/Mordheimer/40k%20Motivational%20Posters/40kChaos.jpg[/img]

ant4tbc
June 1st 2010


373 Comments


soooooo does this sound like Florence?

klap
Emeritus
June 2nd 2010


12410 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

uh not at all

Bitchfork
June 2nd 2010


7581 Comments


post punk not indie pop

klap
Emeritus
June 2nd 2010


12410 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

yeah, although i wouldn't say florence is quite indie pop

xscythe7x
June 3rd 2010


25 Comments


"A kiss with a fist is better than none."
love this song^^

PearlDrummer20
June 4th 2010


1089 Comments


A KICK IN THE TEETH IS GOOD FOR SOME
A KISS WITH A FIST IS BETTER THAN NONE

Donkey
June 14th 2010


152 Comments

Album Rating: 3.0

Not bad. I've heard better from them.



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