Chief - Modern Rituals

  by Jon Rogers

published: 13 / 10 / 2010

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Review

US quartet Chief are certainly out of time. ‘Modern Rituals’ is full of simple heartfelt songs of the verse-chorus-verse sort, a few harmonies and all drenched in West Coast sunshine and folk-ish rock as well as utterly bland (so-called) indie bands like Snow Patrol or the Verve. Opener ‘The Minute I Saw It’ stakes out their stall nicely. All hummable, sing-a-long tunes with a folk-rock feel and a big, expansive sound (that ultimately sounds hollow and empty). Almost as if the Verve are doing a bad cover of a Byrds outtake. And it’s pretty much the same all the way through. Chief in effect play it safe and don’t take any chances, making ‘Modern Rituals’ pretty dull and insipid. ‘Nothing’s Wrong’ wouldn’t sound out of place on a Travis or Snow Patrol album – which is worrying. And what’s worse is that all eleven songs sound pretty much the same. There’s no variety or subtlety. Each song is pitched mid-paced, backed by a pretty enough melody (if lacking imagination) and some vaguely wishy-washy lyrics about lost love or trite clichés of going “down to the river”. Unfortunately the only real modern ritual this deserves is pressing the off button.

Track Listing:-

1 The Minute I Saw It
2 Nothing's Wrong
3 Wait For You
4 This Land
5 Breaking Walls
6 In The Valley
7 Stealing
8 You Tell Me
9 Summer's Day
10 Irish Song
11 Night And Day

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