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I'd been waiting for the new Kings of Leon album, like a child waits for that ever important visit from Santa. On first listen I was pretty disappointed, I knew it would be tough to follow the last three incredible albums with yet another stroke of genius, but I thought they'd manage it. My thoughts, once I'd played every track, were that it sounded like a collection of rejects that didn't make it on to Because of the Times. But after listening to it a few more times I've changed my mind quite a lot about this album. I do think it's really good, lots of catchy songs, good tunes and a ought to be given a good second, third and fourth listen. It's a grower, certainly. Alright, it's just not as good as Youth & Young Manhood, Aha Shake Heartbreak, or Because of the Times. But those albums are so mind blowingly fantastic that they're undoubtedly hard to follow, let alone beat. So I'm not going to say how they should have done better, or how they're no good anymore. Because that's just a load of rubbish. How many legendary musicians can you name that have had all equally entertaining albums? In fact KOL have done bloody well to have produced what they did, prior to OBTN. And it's not a bad album, it's just a bit different and not as catchy. Also there isn't such a mix of tempo and feeling on this album, compared to the others. In that respect it's not quite as easy to listen to.

There are some great songs on here and some not so great, but still alright. They're mostly not as fast paced, or uptempo as a lot of the tracks on their previous albums. Nothing as edgy as Charmer, nothing as powerful as McFearless and nothing as fun as Taper Jean Girl. And what about atmospheric? Even though it's a laid back album, there's nothing to rival the anticipation of listening to say, Milk, the single note played over quiet drums building into a punching, yet relaxed track. There's a fairly somber mood about OBTN in general. But there are tracks that really hold their own and provide a different sound than we're used to, which in itself is refreshing and a display of yet another type of sound that they can achieve. The great tracks are just that, great. The others, well, are less so.

The single track, Sex on Fire, is probably the most uptempo on the album. Again, when I listened to the song on the internet before its release, I was disappointed but having listened a bit more it grew on me and I do like it a lot now. There are some songs, such as Use Somebody that are a little too conventional and don't really sound like they came from KOL. The boys seem to have adopted the idea that making this kind of more mainstream sound is progress, as they've indicated in recent reviews.

There are 11 tracks in total on OBTN.

At first, I really really did NOT like the first track, Closer. I think it's because it's quite a step away from their previous material, and as it's the first song I think I was just surprised. But I have actually grown to really enjoy this track. I really love the vocal line in this one, it adds a little more grit, which results in a pretty atmospheric song all round.

Crawl, is a little annoying because it uses repetitive lyrics in the chorus, but on the whole it does sound good. A decent upbeat track.

I've had Sex on Fire going around in my head for the last few days. I think this is an excellent track, which has great levels of ambiance and great screeching guitar and big, powerful vocals over the chorus, in that oh so good KOL style. I really like the build up from verse to chorus on this one too. Definitely a great choice for the single track.

The tracks after Sex on Fire are pretty wound down and a lot mellower. Use Somebody keeps a strong drum line and retains enough oomph to keep it as a fairly decent track on the album. But there is something about it, and I think it's the lyrics, that I'm not that keen on. Manhattan is a better example of this type of track, although its sound is similar in that it's a slower vocal with a simple, echoing tune behind it. It's the strong performance that Caleb gives in this one, which is so much better suited to him, that really makes this a KOL track. It feels like with Manhattan they're showing how Use Somebody should have been done.

Slowing it right down, Revelry sounds very different but remains true to form due to the small details - those high notes on the guitar and the active drum line are very reminiscent of the slower tracks from previous albums. It's a nice song, this one.

I can't help but think the intro for 17 sounds exactly like an intro from a christmas song. All those bells and ting...it's not good. But keep listening because the track itself is a good'un - quite in those verses and powerful in the chorus.

Finally getting to one of the best tracks on the album, Notion, towards the end of the album is really enjoyable - I think this would be a great one played live. Staying with the sound of the album, but managing to stand out for showcasing the type of sounds we've heard from them - the quite ambience, the powerful voice, but a slightly playful lead guitar.

I knew there was a bass-ey track in there somewhere - I Want You is just that. Plenty of bass and a low lead guitar, accompanied by a slower vocal from Caleb. I feel like this track is building up to something slightly more than it actually does. I was expecting a roof raising, loud, screamer of a chorus. But I evidently guessed wrong. It's actually a pretty boring chorus, flat and with not much soul to it.

The drumming on Be Somebody is fantastic. Really makes this track a lot better than it would have been.

But if you're looking for classic KOL you're going to need to Cold Desert. This one, right here, is a song. I can't get enough of it. There's soul in the vocal and so much feeling in the echo-y reverb and short guitar solo. Love it, love it, love it.

Another difference on this album is the clearer, more coherent vocal from Caleb, which in my opinion is fine, but I didn't have a problem with the way he sounded before. In fact I loved it. And I love how on KOL sing-a-longs everyone mumbles at least two lines. It's great fun. Apparently the clearer vocal is attributed to him becoming more confident about his lyrics, whereas previously he was quite shy. That's pretty sweet, eh?

I've seen KOL live twice now and their performance was like nothing else. I've never seen a better live act, and I've seen a lot - including a lot of the 'greats' and no one has as much control and enormous amount of energy as these guys. I wont forget the shivers down my spine when they played Trani, climaxing in an epic screaming vocal refrain. Time stood still - it was that effing good. If you ever get a chance to see them live you have to do it.

They say this album is more 'stadium' suited, but I'm not so sure about that. I certainly can't see audiences getting as excited over tracks like Crawl as they were over Black Thumbnail, King of the Rodeo or Charmer. In terms of the sound itself, Trani, McFearless and many others resonate better in, and are more suited to, a stadium. The older hits are going to sound better than OBTN as they're clearer and have a more defined tune. Also, the new album is fairly samey so I can't imagine time would pass as quickly as it had previously. But then there are tracks on the album that will be able to compete, such as Sex on Fire and Cold Desert. They would sound fantastic live.

I'm not that keen on the sleeve notes and the CD face - that colour of green just reminds me of a Let Loose single, a purchase of a seriously misguided seven or eight year old self.

Closer, Sex on Fire, Notion, Manhattan and Cold Desert are really the highlights of the album. Where as Closer was a successful step in the direction of a different sound, for a lot of the tracks this was not the case. It's a shame really, that it's not as good as previous albums. But to its merit, it is still a strong album that's worth the listen. I wish I could say I liked it more, I really do. I still think they have come up with some good stuff for this album. It's slightly over produced too. But I think that's due to the nature of the material put on the album.

I still really love this album. Not as much as the others, but it's KOL after all and you have to admit anything they do is going to be good. Only By The Night is more than that. It's a risk taking chance in the direction of something a bit new. It didn't all work, but a good deal of it really did. And for that it's worth buying. I certainly look forward to seeing what they'll do next.