Yours truly is never above admitting when he’s made a mistake. Along with Tortoise’s It’s All Around You (2004) and the Beta Band’s Heroes to Zeros (2004), the 80% I slathered upon the Kaiser Chiefs’s Employment was an ‘oops’ review if there ever was one. Not so much bad as simply lacking in depth, Employment (2005) consisted of a handful of decent Brit-pop singles surrounded by a sea of filler, and quickly proved tiresome upon repeated listens. Its singles still sound dandy as a Friday night pre-game to an evening of heavy drinking, but hardly the stuff of which the 80+ bracket is made.

Actually, it’s a little unfair to refer to Employment first single “I Predict a Riot” as merely decent because it’s a modern day pub-rock classic that’s just as catchy today as it was in January of 2005. While I don’t have the highest of hopes for the Kaisers' forthcoming Yours Truly, Angry Mob, “Ruby” is proof that this band has the ‘irresistible lead single’ thing down cold.

Like “Riot” before it, “Ruby” isn't exactly what you’d call deep, and its shout along chorus hook of “Ruby, Ruby, Ruby, RUBY!” looks admittedly awful on paper. But as a climax point to the song’s compact, crunchy guitar riff and vocalist Ricky Wilson’s newfound Morrisey inflections in the verses, it works. The sing-songy backing vocals and ’80s keyboard noises still smack of the Parklife grave robbing that was inescapable on Employment (not surprising considering Stephen Street is still behind the boards), but as lead singles go, “Ruby” is immediately catchy and instantly memorable. Whether or not Yours Truly, Angry Mob will contain enough depth to elevate the Kaiser Chiefs beyond their current status as slightly above average pub-rockers remains to be seen, but if nothing else, they’ve piqued my interest.

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