I don’t necessarily like the Kaiser Chiefs as much as I used to, but then again, I used to love them.
Even though my music taste and the music the band make now has wildly diverged, I still remember all the songs I used to love, even if I don’t listen to them as much.
In any case, at their creative height, which coincided with the height of their popularity, they came up with a slew of massive hits that have stood the test of time.
I could have gone with one of the more obvious choices, but I feel that “Modern Way” showcases a certain style of the Kaiser Chiefs that didn’t tend to make it onto the radio so much. A lot of their songs are quite dark in content and sound, but some are really more wistful and regret filled than others.
“Modern Way” is one of those. It lacks the bombastic nature of a hit like “Ruby”, instead opting for the route of understated simplicity.
The song is punctuated by a sound that is either claves, a coconut, or some other drum part. It isn’t credited so I can’t really tell…
The rest of the song has a slow guitar riff and a keyboard riff that play together, and a more standard drum section. The chorus provides a burst of energy, but the song never becomes euphoric as such…
The song was the 4th single from the band’s 2005 debut album Employment.
They have so much more than just “Ruby”…