Album Review: The Futureheads - The Chaos
- Written by David Lichfield
Living proof that a record label dropping doesn't necessarily equate to a commercial death-knell, Radio 1 support and blanket airplay mean that, against all odds, The Futureheads are now one of the few bands to have debuted in 2004 to have maintained the same level of popularity they garnered with their early releases. Now on album four, and their second as their own bosses, The Chaos sticks to a trademark formula of stop-start rhythms, unpredictable chord sequences, accented vocals, and sugary hooks that first became synonymous with the Sunderland quartet during their ascent, mixed with the side order of eeriness which has always enabled them to land on the right side of eccentric, and stand apart from the saturation of Gang Of Four-borrowers who characterised their original era.
As last time, with This Is Not The World’s lead off 'The Beginning Of The Twist', The Chaos has been heralded by a big hit single, this time the instant gratification of the very familiar 'Heartbeat Song', a typically infectious melodic jaunt in a similar vein to Jane Wieldin's 'Rush Hour' or more contemporarily, 'Burn Baby Burn' by Ash - another gaggle of punk-pop purveyors now playing by their own rules. 'Struck Dumb', the low-key free download released by the band to mark the countdown to this release does not sound tired here yet either - it's huge, chugging riff is replicated vocally in the song's verses adding to the weighty anthemics on display.
The band's old penchant for acapella makes a reprise on several occasions too - something that, along with the abrupt transitions, had been toned down on their previous release in exchange for some quite faceless executions of radio-friendly indie pop. That conservatism isn't totally absent within The Chaos - for every absorbing, excursive musical passage (see the theatrical Queen-nodding title track), there are lumbering moments of fatigue, despite the high-tempos. 'This Is The Life' despite its bounciness, remains inferior to the jerky moments of yore that it recalls. 'I Can Do That' is the closest this album comes to a pedestrian crowd-pleaser, with a chorus not a million miles away from 'I Predict A Riot' and as such will surely be at the front of the queue when it comes to releasing further singles from the album.
Tellingly, The Chaos is fuelled by the same sense of defiance that has kept the group a going concern long after their whole future was first thrown into uncertainty. 'Struck Dumb' deals with these themes most urgently, particularly in it's later verses, which run '…all of us are genius/ There’s more than enough, to go between us/ Everyday, you create / Everything, in everyway'. As ever when events take a darker turn, The Chaos reinvigorates itself. 'Sun Goes Down' with it's melancholic chord drops and piercing screams, marks a definite turn of mood, evoking the pitch black drama of early Cure, whilst the reversed choral backing vocals on 'The Baron' are particularly unnerving against the sprightly yet imposing rhythms backing them. 'The Connector' resembles a classic Kraftwerk soundscape covered at three times the tempo and a third of the length.
Despite the upbeat anthemics on display, The Futureheads' regular lapses into melancholy once again provide enough variation and depth for a coherent album to hang together. 'Jupiter', the album closer possibly contains more tempo changes than the rest of the album put together and puts their once-trademark harmonies firmly back in the spotlight. Berserk, yet utterly truthful, imaginative though coherent, there's a real weight of emotion amongst the absurdity making The Chaos the first album to showcase all the band's original nuances in a realised fashion.