Kings Of Leon

Only By The Night

Written by: MR on 01/10/2008 13:02:28

This is the fourth release from the Kings Of Leon family. I saw these guys on Roskilde Festival this year and I remember thinking "Man, I'm truly happy. In this moment, right now, everything seems just right". Needless to say it was by far the best concert for me on this years festival. Also needless to say is that I've been expecting this album with like a child expects his presents on Christmas eve. "Because Of The Times" has become one of my favorite records ever, so my expectations were out of this world.

Let me start by saying that this album in no way has let me down. The first thing that's clear on this record is that in Caleb Followill, we have one of the greatest lead-vocalists of our time. Gone is the potato-in-mouth-like pronunciation, his clear and naked voice stands as the central and strongest asset on "Only By The Night". We get introduced to the album with the excellent "Closer" where the dusty guitars spook in the background, while a very cool and hypnotizing riff is the main focus throughout the entire song. Again I must stress Caleb's singing, which just blows me away. I've already fallen in love with most of the songs, and as such I've made it my "thing" to look for things to improve, but I fail to see where they can improve. Only the Followill family can apparently see where there are improvements to be made.

You will love the half redneck, half boyish charm that their music expresses in so many ways. It leaves you impressed by the fact that Kings Of Leon manage to be a bit of Kings Of Leon from the last record "Because Of The Times", with songs like "Sex is on Fire" and "Manhattan", and still show new and improved writing skills and musical flair as with "Closer" and "Revelry". On the record, the Followill family have opened their arms to reach everyone. The music is designed for larger venues, and as the latest sales indicate (over 200,000 on the first week in England), this is exactly what is happening with the band. The mixture of southern state rock with an U2-ish feeling in some of the guitars shapes this album's potential to be one of the best this year. Sure, some might argue that Metallica have done a great job, but you rarely see a band like Kings of Leon who on every freaking record have improved themselves consistently. Every reviewer keeps asking when is it gonna stop? Well, definitely not on this record.

9

Download: Closer, Revelry
For the fans of: The Strokes, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, U2
Listen: Myspace

Release date 23.09.2008
Sony/BMG

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