Always Happens Like That

Album: Off With Their Heads (2008)
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Songfacts®:

  • This features the singer-songwriter Lily Allen on backing vocals.
  • Kaiser Chief bassist Simon Rix told Drowned In Sound the story of this song: "This song began with two chords that Whitey started playing on the piano. It was the first day we moved (studios) from Rak to Eastcote. I think we were intending to record 'Spanish Metal' but we ended up writing two new songs. Nick (Hodgson, normally the drummer) was playing guitar and I was playing drums. It started off really really slow, but when we got back to our normal instruments we built it up. This was a song where the two producers had a really big role. Eliot (Hames) did a lot of good things with delays and gave the song it's distinctive sound. Mark (Ronson) wasn't around when we actually recorded it but he heard it and it was his idea to ask Lily Allen to do something on it. I think that was the final thing that took the song from being a good little song to a big song on the album. Which was a surprise really because we'd got to the point where the album was finished and suddenly we had another one to add to it."

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