The Futureheads – The Chaos (Nul)
3/5
By: Keri Kennedy
The Chaos is a misleading title for such a tightly structured and almost mathematically precise collection of songs. The Futureheads’ fourth album – released on their own Nul Records (formed in 2006 after being dropped by 679) – is fast, no-nonsense, and barely gives you a minute to take a breath.
Heavier and less produced than 2008’s This Is Not The World, The Chaos is nevertheless unmistakably Futureheads with Barry Hyde’s undisguised Sunderland vocal, jerky guitars and mechanical drumming all present.
There’s nothing that measures up to, say, ‘Decent Days and Nights’, however ‘Heartbeat Song’ does a pretty good job trying. The result is more pounding power-pop and a chanting chorus, prompting thoughts that they will perpetually be on the mid afternoon bill at Reading Festival, with thousands of 15 year olds punching the air to every strum.
‘This Is The Life’ - jumpy, angular and the most chaotic of all the tracks - reminds of the long-gone wonkiness of Clor, while ‘Struck Dumb’ has a chorus and hook that sticks in your head like it’s been around for years.
The Chaos has been heralded as a return to form for The Futureheads, and that might be so. While there’s nothing particularly new here, they’ve stuck to a formula that works, a relentless one at that.
Artists in this article: The Futureheads
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