IMAGE - it’s everything. Ever sat back and thought how remarkable it is what a new coiffure, a high-profile diet and a berth on a celebrity TV show can do for it?

Ricky Wilson may look like he’s about to audition for a Leeds-based version of Geordie Shore but you can’t question his master plan – it’s bagged him a number one record.

But appearances can be deceiving.

While the mask may be different, the sound is very much the same. It may be harsh but it’s also a fact that every subsequent Kaiser Chiefs record will always be compared against Employment.

That’s the one that was helping Wilson’s band fill racecourses and festival berths long after their star had initially waned and before The Voice came calling.

It was a record full of arrogance, verve and, most importantly, some stomping tunes as well.

Now on to their fifth studio effort, and with new drummer Vijay Mistry at the helm following Nick Hodgson’s departure two years ago, it still feels like standard fare.

It’s a reliable diet of Wilson shouting, some noisy guitars and well-polished production – see The Factory Gates, Ruffians On Parade and One More Last Song.

I Predict A Riot, these tracks are not.

On the occasions they do get inventive they are handsomely rewarded. Coming Home has a real touch of The Killers to it, My Life is as good as anything they recorded at their peak while actor Bill Nighy’s reading of a war poem at the end of Cannons is inspired.

Despite all assertions to the contrary, this is a safe offering which will cash in on Wilson’s re-found fame.

That’s fine. Sometimes, though, fine shouldn’t just be enough.