Kings of Leon are a four piece rock band originating from Tennessee in the United States. They consist of three brothers and a cousin. They have had three full studio albums prior to this in the shops, but none of them have reached the magnitude of Only By The Night.
There style of music in previous albums is very Bob Dylan influenced despite being a rocky-bluesy album and works well for them. They had limited chart success with their first two albums, the best being the sing 'the bucket' which entered the top 20. Then came Because of the Times, this went straight to no.1 in the UK album charts. It was a fantastic album which did well despite the Kings of Leon yet to find their true sound. Just over a year later now and I believe with this album, we have entered the 8th stage of rock.
Hendrix, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, The Clash, Ozzy Osbourne, Queen, Nirvana and KINGS OF LEON. You may be thinking that it's a bit extreme of me for putting Kings of Leon on the same pedestal as those Rock Legends,
let alone in the same sentence, but when was the last time you listened to a CD over and over this side of the 21st century? The amount of times I've bought a cd of a modern day artist but then reverted back to a classic such as dark side of the moon or californiacation. These guys have talent and fantastic song writing abilities. They include all the musical elements needed to make a hit record and have such an amazing singer at the helm.
This album consists of all killer tracks and I can honestly say I enjoy every one of them but here are my personal favourites.
Closer Closer is the start of the album and is absolutely fantastic. Definitely not a single as it would not deem catchy enough but an absolutely marvellous song structure that gradually builds up towards the end. The song starts with pizzicato on the lead guitar and many simple but effective drones on the bass guitar. The chorus is terrific with the lyrics 'and it's coming closer' repeated throughout. A sublime way to kick off an album.
Sex on Fire This is the track that most people will be familiar with as it debuted at no.1 in the UK Singles Chart. The immense lyrics that nobody seems to know what they mean are sung with such soul and emotion. A fantastic guitar riff to go with it too.
Crawl I would see this as more of an experimental track. It has a fantastic distorted bass that somehow works to the best of its ability and the vocals are just special. Caleb the lead singer is ever present on this track with such a raw, muffled vocal that sounds so unique, in a good way.
Manhattan This is my favourite track on the album. An extremely simple but brilliantly sounding bass line. Jared (bass) writes beautiful riffs in this song particularly in the chorus and hasn't got the recognition he deserves. As a bassist myself, I understand how hard it is to write such magnificent riffs. The reverb on the guitar of this track definitely makes the song more atmospheric and works wonders. The drums are also a delight in this song changing in rhythm constantly.
Use Somebody This is the second single of the album and contains backing vocals supplied by the rest of the band. The Oh's are great and much more subtle and less gimmicky than what you would find on a Kaiser Chiefs record. The crunchy guitar and the jagged vocal sound superb as always. Certainly one that I sing in the shower after a hard day.
Cold Desert What a way to end an album. This is the most emotive, expressive and tuneful record I've heard in a long time. The reason being is the story behind it. Caleb has said that the whole song was recorded whilst the band was drunk, Caleb more so than the other members. They had the basic guitar riff and a first verse, the rest was improvised. The words are all about his deepest feelings, he even mentions that 'jesus don't love me' and regrets saying this in an interview he had recently. Also if you notice on the track he is slurring some of his words which makes it very atmospheric and in my opinion is in my top 10 songs of all time. A sensational song that changes beat, rhythm and dynamics constantly. The disappointment of this track is that they don't play it live due to the way it was recorded.
This album is superb and in my opinion the album of the decade. It's awe-inspiring and I may just end up buying a back up copy. A fantastic live act also and I can see them playing a Wembley stadium in the not too distant future. Buy this album if you enjoyed their previous albums as each one has evolved since its predecessor or even if you are completely new to KOL and have just heard the singles.
Also on dooyoo under JakeLedge
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Already on course to be one of the year's biggest sellers, Only By the Night has sealed ... more
Kings of Leon's unlikely position as Britain's favourite American rock band. The Followill brothers (and cousin) have always been tagged as part of a southern rock ...
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Already on course to be one of the year's biggest sellers,Only By the Nighthas sealed ... more
Kings of Leon's unlikely position as Britain's favourite American rock band. The Followill brothers (and cousin) have always been tagged as part of a southern rock tr...
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