God knows you shouldn’t believe everything you read on Twitter these days, but when former Kaiser Chief Nick Hodgson posted “If I tweet it then it has to happen, right?” it was enough to convince everyone that after six years of relative silence, he was ready for the music industry merry-go-round again.
Hodgson left the Chiefs on good terms in 2012 after playing a major part in the huge commercial success of their chart-topping first two albums, not the first to find the touring side of the band equation had become a grind. Seeking a change he went on to work as a songwriter for hire, collaborating with the likes of John Newman, Hurts and Ratboy.
After a brief flirtation with performing again in the guise of Albert Albert – “The opposite of (the) serious band” – the multi-instrumentalist returns to Leeds on Monday the 29th clutching his first solo album Tell Your Friends, recorded in his home studio and complete with a guest spot from former team mate Whitey on Feel Better.
More personal and less up front than the likes of Ruby, Tell Your Friends finds Hodgson sticking to what he does best, an album with just the right amount of melancholy but still uplifting in a classically songwritten way. It remains to be seen whether the setlist for his homecoming gig will feature the likes of I Predict A Riot – as performed with The Killers recently – but undoubtedly the city will give one of their prodigal sons the welcome he deserves.
Nick J.D. Hodgson plays Headrow House on January 29th.
The Voice Of Unreason 