Kaiser Chiefs

Kaiser Chiefs' Brit rock is friendlier than Oasis', who, for better or worse, set the bar for U.K. rock bands that get big in the States, but that doesn't mean Off With Their Heads is an exercise in sunny lyrics and fixed smiles. The angst is just delivered in crisply distorted guitars and the occasionally funky bassline. The Leeds five-piece takes the upright smirk of early Kinks and marries it to '00s-era post-punk, resulting in songs that groove underneath fat synths but would never, ever miss tea time. You wanna hear "Half the Truth" first.