Music
All-Time High (And Low) Scores
Best Of 2009
Best Of 2008
Best Of 2007
Best Of 2006
Best Of 2005
Best Of 2004
Best Of 2003
Best Of 2002
Best Of 2001
Best Of 2000
Upcoming &
Recent Releases
70
AFI
65
Air
71
Alice In Chains
77
Amerie
85
The Antlers![]()
75
Arctic Monkeys
68
As Tall As Lions
82
Atlas Sound![]()
75
The Avett Brothers
67
Backstreet Boys
56
Bad Lieutenant
68
Devendra Banhart
72
Lou Barlow
88
Baroness![]()
69
Basement Jaxx
81
David Bazan![]()
72
Brendan Benson
72
The Big Pink
96
Big Star![]()
46
Billy Talent
75
The Black Crowes
51
Black Mold
68
Blitzen Trapper
75
BLK JKS
77
A.A. Bondy
73
The Bottle Rockets
63
Box Elders
65
Boys Like Girls
76
Brand New
73
Tyondai Braxton
87
Brother Ali![]()
70
Ian Brown
75
Michael Buble
78
Built To Spill
61
Colbie Caillat
79
Califone
68
Mariah Carey
84
Brandi Carlile![]()
73
Julian Casablancas
83
Rosanne Cash![]()
69
Castanets
65
The Cave Singers
84
Nick Cave & Warren Ellis![]()
79
Vic Chesnutt
75
Choir Of Young Believers
81
Circulatory System![]()
68
The Clean
84
The Clientele![]()
71
Cobra Starship
85
Converge![]()
71
Eric Copeland
80
Cymbals Eat Guitars
71
Datarock
59
Dead By Sunrise
76
Dead Man's Bones
88
Destroyer![]()
63
The Dodos
77
Drive-By Truckers
66
Bob Dylan
44
The Entrance Band
67
Esser
69
Fanfarlo
63
Felix Da Housecat
68
Fink
78
The Flaming Lips
66
Flight Of The Conchords
79
Florence And The Machine
67
John Fogerty
83
Fuck Buttons![]()
71
Nelly Furtado
47
Gary Go
68
Ghostface Killah
79
Girls
69
Gossip
62
David Gray
66
David Guetta
79
Richard Hawley
74
Mayer Hawthorne
66
Headlights
79
HEALTH
77
Joe Henry
66
Hockey
69
Whitney Houston
68
Imogen Heap
59
Jack Ingram
79
Islands
73
Jessie James
74
Jamie T
65
Jay-Z
51
Jet
69
Daniel Johnston
76
Karen O And The Kids
72
Toby Keith
69
Kid Cudi
65
Kings Of Convenience
62
Sean Kingston
64
KISS
76
Kris Kristofferson
68
KRS-One & Buckshot
76
La Roux
84
Miranda Lambert![]()
72
Ledisi
75
Sondre Lerche
56
Juliette Lewis
82
Lightning Bolt![]()
73
Little Dragon
44
Pixie Lott
73
Lyle Lovett
66
Lovvers
75
Baaba Maal
77
Madness
84
Madonna![]()
85
Manic Street Preachers![]()
62
Maps
55
Massive Attack
57
Matisyahu
67
Reba McEntire
66
Tim McGraw
65
Brian McKnight
79
Mew
77
Malcolm Middleton
77
Mika
68
Amy Millan
76
Mission Of Burma
76
Molina And Johnson
80
Monsters Of Folk
62
Morrissey
85
Mount Eerie![]()
78
The Mountain Goats
62
Múm
72
Muse
66
Willie Nelson
78
Nirvana
97
Nirvana![]()
72
Nisennenmondai
80
No Age
71
Noah And The Whale
75
Noisettes
79
Nudge
47
Dolores O'Riordan
74
Os Mutantes
73
Osso
81
Owen![]()
76
Paramore
76
Pastels And Tenniscoats
51
Sean Paul
80
Pearl Jam
66
Jemina Pearl
72
Jack Penate
65
Phish
82
Pissed Jeans![]()
61
Pitbull
79
A Place To Bury Strangers
66
Robert Pollard
79
Polvo
72
Porcupine Tree
80
Q-Tip
80
R.E.M.
89
Raekwon![]()
69
Rain Machine
70
Ramona Falls
75
Dizzee Rascal
75
The Raveonettes
76
Jay Reatard
82
Reigning Sound![]()
81
Rodrigo Y Gabriela![]()
79
Russian Circles
69
Buffy Sainte-Marie
73
Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions
61
Sally Shapiro
78
Shudder To Think
70
Simian Mobile Disco
58
Simple Minds
72
Six Organs Of Admittance
69
Slaughterhouse
80
Slayer
61
The Slits
62
Mindy Smith
78
Soulsavers
77
Speech Debelle
58
Spiral Stairs
58
Squarepusher
55
Steel Panther
73
Sufjan Stevens
52
Rod Stewart
65
Joss Stone
75
George Strait
83
Barbra Streisand![]()
76
A Sunny Day In Glasgow
74
Susanna And The Magical Orchestra
78
The Swell Season
76
David Sylvian
83
Taken By Trees![]()
78
Tegan And Sara
68
The Temper Trap
72
Themselves
82
They Might Be Giants![]()
67
Third Eye Blind
66
J Tillman
69
Times New Viking
57
Tokio Hotel
67
Trey Songz
71
The Twilight Sad
58
Carrie Underwood
56
The Used
68
Various Artists
70
Various Artists
74
Various Artists
77
The Very Best
71
Kurt Vile
67
Vivian Girls
71
Volcano Choir
76
Rufus Wainwright
59
Weezer
80
White Denim
76
Why?
83
Wild Beasts![]()
80
Wildbirds & Peacedrums
59
Andrew W.K.
71
Patrick Wolf
67
Wolfmother
84
The xx![]()
79
Yo La Tengo
83
Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band![]()
51
Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansson
59
Zero 7
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
Employment

Generally favorable reviews
Based on 27 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 62 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >
Album Info
Label: Universal
Release Date: 15 March 2005
Discs: 1 disc
Genre(s): Indie, Rock, Britpop
Summary
Stephen Street (Blur) produced this debut disc for the Leeds, England five-piece.
Also By This Artist: Off With Their Heads Yours Truly, Angry Mob
Also On The Web: Official Artist Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
The Guardian
That Employment is derivative is both undeniable and irrelevant. It is so confident, so smart, so full of life, that a more enjoyable 45 minutes is hard to imagine.
Read Full Review >Village Voice
Kaiser Chiefs flow so well that even given the nonstop electro-like riffs, hooks, and knowingly cornball solos played by guitarist Whitey, the songs as a group can over-egg the pudding as only powerpop can. But as a record-making matter, Employment is nearly without flaws.
Read Full Review >E! Online
Employment is thrilling from beginning to end, packing in 45-minutes of exuberant Britpop melodies, na-na-na choruses and buzzsaw guitars that make Franz Ferdinand look like a bunch of stiffs.
Read Full Review >Spin
Frontman Ricky Wilson is an average singer but an extraordinary melodist. [May 2005, p.102]
Mojo
Smelts the classic rock canon (Madness, Blur, Bowie, Small Faces) into an infectious, head-spinning punch. [May 2005, p.109]
Urb
They have a clever way with words and pleasantly surprising musical depth. [May 2005, p.92]
Alternative Press
Kaiser Chiefs melt their influences into something entirely non-derivative--and thoroughly fun. [May 2005, p.172]
Drowned In Sound
Try not to worry too much about where it comes from, or who else it may or may not sound like. Instead, enjoy a record that is quintessentially British, without pretension and most importantly, a whole lot of fun.
Read Full Review >Playlouder
Essentially, 'Employment' is a very British record; an entirely Britpop creation spawned ten years after the event.
Read Full Review >Blender
[Kaiser Chiefs] are smug, preening and shallow, and so eager to entertain that they nearly piss themselves with pizzazz and energy. [Apr 2005, p.119]
Uncut
A gem. [Apr 2005, p.105]
Dot Music
They develop, mutate, and swell in confidence until you’re faced with the last thing you expected - finally, a worthy successor to Blur.
Read Full Review >cokemachineglow
This is an not an album designed for navel gazing introspection, but rather one to be played at neighbor-annoying volumes before you hit the town on a Friday night.
Read Full Review >Billboard
At least until that new Coldplay record drops, the Kaiser Chiefs have positioned themselves to hold the title of Baddest Musicians in the World With a British Return Address.
Read Full Review >Rolling Stone
The Kaiser Chiefs make you want to sing along with practically every song by the second chorus.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly
Certainly makes for a fun time. [8 Apr 2005, p.64]
Los Angeles Times
It's also a nice change of pace that the Chiefs avoid the '80s post-punk clichés so much in fashion with their peers, though you have to wonder about the instincts of a band that leads off with its most gimmicky and least involving songs and buries its best toward the end. [10 Apr 2005]
Tiny Mix Tapes
Employment feels more like a patchwork collage of past Brit-rock stardom... than a fully-formed statement of their own. But maybe that's missing the point. When a band has this much fun and crackles with this much energy, you don't ask questions.
Read Full Review >All Music Guide
Employment is an uneven but still very promising debut that suggests that one day the Kaiser Chiefs will pull off something even more ambitious.
Read Full Review >Prefix Magazine
There are no bad songs on Employment. There are maybe a couple not-good ones toward the end, but even those are so tightly wound and polished they could end up lodged in your head for days.
Read Full Review >Pitchfork
It's deadly entertaining in bursts-- especially if you pick out the right bursts.
Read Full Review >Lost At Sea
Kaiser Chiefs manage find their footing early on and this success forgives them their meanderings later on the disc.
Read Full Review >Under The Radar
The rest of the album, however, never quite lives up to the manic energy of "Riot." [#9]
Q Magazine
Employment is an album that demands furious scrawls of red pen in the margins. [Apr 2005, p.120]
Stylus Magazine
This is the kind of post punk that loves The Specials and XTC rather than Wire and Joy Division.
Read Full Review >PopMatters
If Franz Ferdinand were Pearl Jam, these guys would be the Stone Temple Pilots.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this album is 7.5 (out of 10) based on 62 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Garry K gave it a0:
When I first listened to "I predict a riot" I didn't even want to listen to the rest. Too poppy and cheesey.
ixat a gave it a9:
at first listen this album sux big tym.. but after frequent listening, it actually rocks! the unes are cetch, though some of them sounds kinda foolishly weird(Na Na Na-sounds like an asylum anthem). but ultimately, this album is fun, colourful and worth ever penny
Chad S gave it an8:
I've had "Employment" for about eighteen months now and "I Predict a Riot", in particular; still sounds great, kind of like a less brainy XTC and a guitar solo that sounds inspired by the B-52's "Rock Lobster". "Modern Way" is almost as good. Catchy pop songs are always better than atonal dirges.
Luke T gave it an8:
Kaiser chiefs make a good first impression with their debut album 'employment.' Apart from one or two songs all of the tunes are catchy and get stuck in your head and the lyrics are written well. One of the best british bands of their generation.
Kate B gave it a9:
The best album in my CD rack at the moment! Although it takes ideas from bands in other decades, Employment is catchy and entertaining, and all of them are good musicians. Ricky Wilson is a great lead singer, and a thouroughly nice person. Everyone should get this album and support this British band so they can go far!
jarrod w gave it a9:
"Employment" is one of the greatest albums of 2005. The opening three songs are brilliant. The song, 'Modern Way" which is not as popular as the first two: "Every Day i Love you Less and less" and "I Predict a Riot", however it is my favourite on the album. The Kaiser Chiefs are not unique, but they stand out against similar acts such as Maximo Park, The Futureheads, and bloc party.
Doug A gave it a10:
I have never heard an album that made my happier. Despite a couple "fillers" this album is as bubbly and fun as they come. Can't wait for the follow-up
