Kings of Leon- Only By The Night

 

Proud to call these Kings our countrymen.

The Followill boys are back with their fourth major release, titled “Only By The Night.” While the Nashville, Tennessee-based Kings have not enjoyed much commercial success in the United States, thier large international fan base affords them the opportunity to produce huge studio albums. Lead singer Caled Followill told Rolling Stone, “I’m sick of being big everywhere else,” and they intend for this album to finally allow them to break into the upper echelons of United States radio rock.

 

While great, this album won’t get the Kings there. The album has a huge feel to it, with distortioned guitars characterizing many of the songs, including the single, “Sex on Fire.” This is a more advanced sound for the Kings, and gives them the sound of a true arena rock band. Perhaps the hardest rocking and by far the best track on the album is “Crawl,” with enough distortion to make even Jack White proud. The record also has songs that reflect the pure emotion that goes into making a great rock record, such as the spacey, floating “Use Somebody.”

Though “Only By The Night” is a great album, and is definitely on par with the Kings of Leon’s stellar earlier works, it will not gain them the popularity they so desire. The sound is too rough for a mainstream radio audience, who do not seem to have much taste for distortion and smart lyrics. This album is a definite buy, and I give it 3 stars out of a possible four.Buy ‘Only By The Night’ on Amazon.com

Use Somebody (Live)