Somewhere along the lines of insanity, perversion and brilliance, Kings of Leon found themselves.
Their newest album, “Only By The Night,†combines all of the character of their previous albums. But now they consistently bring those traits together to make a solid track list, and not just a few good punches.
Kings has always had more than a mean sucker punch, though, but their first two albums were laced with filler tracks that really left holes in the set, leaving you unsatisfied.
Despite that, there were always more hits than misses. Their last album, “Because of the Times,†was hailed as elite. But the differences between “Only By The Night†and “Because of the Times†are night and day.
Don’t worry, Caleb Followill is still singing about sex. In fact, their first single, “Sex on Fire,†is nothing but a sexual venture, so don’t waste your time trying to interpret it as anything else.
“There’s always been an element of sex in our music,†Followill said on the band’s Web site. “So I thought I would just wrap it all up in one song and be done with the sex for the rest of the record.â€
Sex or no sex, without a Google lyric search, you’re still not very likely to understand just what the hell Followill is saying on the first listen. Personally, it was the seventh and eighth listen before “Sex on Fire†really came together.
Any Kings fan will notice the bass-guitar relationship that breathes life into songs like “Arizona,†is still there. “Revelry†is a prime example of Kings laying a bass track that brings the jam to its fullest potential. “Notion†is another excellent sample of a self-defined bass riff.
The energy “Only By The Night†possesses track after track is the true monumental improvement for Kings. Each piece adds to the last. It’s not very often in alternative rock you have an album with no fillers. In Kings’ album “Aha Shake Heartbreak†and “Because of the Times†you have to trip over a few incomplete songs to get to the pearls. But the flow and quality are consistent in the new album.
Listeners who appreciate Kings’ raw sound on past songs like “Four Kicks†and “King of the Rodeo†will enjoy the new tracks “Manhattan†and “Notion.†If iTunes’ Genius really works, it would have these songs together in the “Gritty Drive Fast Playlist†for your listening pleasure while blazing the streets in your 1983 Camaro and smoking a Marlboro Red.
But there are a few new songs, such as “Closer†and “Use Somebody†that will most certainly catch a listener off-guard if expecting nothing but grinding, raw guitar and crunchy bass riffs, as found in songs like “Camaro.â€
Kings came around and really made an elite album by combining the right amount of raunchy sexuality that made their past albums successful, with their new, mature brilliance.
“Only By The Night†is far more than a one-night stand. It will become your obsession. Give in by supporting your local CD store and picking the album up today.
Brad Luttrell is a journalism senior. E-mail bluttrell@kykernel.com
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