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(Morning Star, Saturday 16 April 2005)

LIVE: Kaiser Chiefs, The Venue, Edinburgh

KIRSTIE MAY checks out the band of the moment, but is left feeling empty by their stand-offish live performance.

What a curious thing the British music press is. It spends its whole existence scrabbling round for the next big thing, for the next bunch of poor clueless indie heads to coo over and preen.

Then, once this honeymoon period is over, they lambast the said band publicly with searing wit and curt asides highlighting how lame their music, style or hair is. And the cycle begins again.

Leeds' Kaiser Chiefs have already been bitten once by the fame game - under the guise of early noughties also-rans Parva. Some of the band found out about the industry's fickle nature the not-so-easy way.

While not quite reaching the cover star stage then, their experience left them clued up enough to enjoy it all now without commitment, to lap up the praise but not be afraid to give two fingers to it all if need be - adamant, it seems, that they won't get fooled again.

Their Employment tour, in support of the debut album of the same name, is their biggest British tour to date. Like last night in Glasgow's Barrowlands, the boys seem to take it all in their stride at the Venue.

Any notion of substance here are pretty much forgotten. Style is paramount.

Both onstage and in the crowd, the de rigeur painfully cool sneer is prevalent as neighbours quietly covet each other's three-buttoned mod jackets.

Watching Ricky Wilson jerk around the stage like a loopy marionette, it's easy to see why the Kaisers are being touted as the band of "yoof."

Their own style belies a lively modernity, though the tuneful guitar-laden pop that they churn out is plainly modelled on everything that's come before, from 1960s mod and Merseybeat to 1970s and '80s alt-pop from the likes of The Jam - good clean-cut boys who can craft a fine song.

Tunes like twice-released single Oh My God are worthy of a mention - there's clearly a knack to writing singalong songs and this is one of the few bands around at the moment who have it.

Similarly, I Predict a Riot is a perfect gig tune, giving the perfect opportunity for affectedly cool pogoing, and future release Everyday I Love You Less and Less screams indie disco-friendly with a fantastic title refrain reminiscent of the open loathing displayed in songs like The Smiths' Unhappy Birthday.

The problem with the Chiefs and Wilson, in particular, is that their lack of commitment, their standoffishness and their "seen it all before" ethos makes it hard to connect to them as a music fan.

The Kaisers do have plenty going for them - their immense tunes stand tall among the very best in the genre, even when stripped of the passion that they should be showcasing.

This makes them the perfect album band, even if they do come up somewhat short on the live front.

But, at the end of the day, it's hard not to feel like the Kaisers' "other woman‚" - they're with you, but they're clearly thinking of something else the whole time.