Album Review: Kate Tempest, Let Them Eat Chaos

Joining the dots between music and spoken word, and drawing inspiration from Beckett, Joyce and Yeats – not to mention Wu-Tang Clan – prolific Londoner Kate Tempest has authored a novel and a string of acclaimed albums, in addition to poetry and plays. Still only 30, she has already received both the Ted Hughes Award and a Mercury nomination. 

Honing her craft “hanging around on picket lines rapping at riot cops”, Tempest paints thought-provoking pictures: check the compelling ‘Ketamine For Breakfast’, which bristles with sparkling production and bubbling bass lines, and relays a fascinating story of addiction. 

‘Europe Is Lost’ tells the tale of a character clutching onto a bottle early in the morning and unable to sleep, before declaring Europe, America and London are lost. “The anarchists are desperate for something to smash,” Tempest observes, before deconstructing warfare, terrorism and selfies. 

Just when Let Them Eat Chaos is starting to sound slightly formulaic, Tempest lobs a terrifically dreamy curve ball into the mix with ‘Perfect Coffee’. “Alright, alright, whose city is this?” the singer asks as the song probes the gentrification of London; a timely subject given the recent closure of Fabric. 

Kate Tempest is an extraordinary talent and a fresh and insightful voice.