Artist Watch: #2- Kings Of Leon

Those southern rockers from Tennessee; they recently came back to the forefront of music channel playlists with material from their new album, Only By The Night. And when I say forefront, the reality is that they had moseyed into the high beams of an oncoming pick-up truck of truly worldwide renown for the very first time. People went in droves to the CD outlets to buy their copies of this unhindered success (figuratively they did this, of course, as no-one really purchases CDs anymore, unless within the confines of their own homes. The only reason I did it was because it was a present for Vaishna).

Born and bred in Tennessee (or born in Oklahoma, and later bred in Tennessee), Kings Of Leon know the meaning of a tight-knit family. Three members are brethren to one another, while the fourth is a cousin whose age slots him in between the lead singer and the bassist. With an age span of seven years across the band, you might think that musical influences would vary greatly at times, resulting in conflict over new directions in which they should be taking the group. To my surprise, incidence of this is rare – almost inconceivable – with a large amount of influences being drawn in times after KOL’s formation. Caleb Followill, lead singer and front man, divulged information ad hoc: “..because of the way we grew up, we were really sheltered from music and we didn't know that much...”.

Kings Of Leon did not burst on to the scene, but their first EP was no meagre attempt at attaining stardom. Holy Roller Novocaine was effectual in its predisposal; people were inclined to procure Youth And Young Manhood upon its appearance later the same calendar year. Holy Roller Novocaine contained five songs – four of which were included on the trailing studio album (with two of these four appearing in remade forms). The fifth song, Wicker Chair, was a pleasant little ditty, though smelled strongly of the Deep South (and mildly of Caleb’s former passion for country music); it meant that to a narrower audience they could appeal. Youth And Young Manhood did not struggle to topple off the shelves in Europe, but home-based fans back in the USA opted out of an enthrallment scheme with the band named after their grandfather. Molly’s Chambers and Red Morning Light were two songs that achieved small-scale success; Red Morning Light was notable due to the fact that it cropped up on the FIFA Football 2004 soundtrack.

Where Youth And Young Manhood laid the groundwork, Aha Shake Heartbreak stepped up to the mantle and constructed an exterior of splendour that gave its fans something memorable – and left newcomers with a remarkably appealing proposition before their ears. The Bucket quickly became KOL’s concomitant song; a tag it sustained until their ascendancy at the superiority of their third album, Because Of The Times. Further tracks now rooted in Kings’ repertoire were the short and punchy Four Kicks and King Of The Rodeo.

In Because Of The Times, Kings Of Leon rightly managed to convey a sense of their growth and few could not catch sight of what the future might hold in store for them. With confidence rocketing, Caleb departed upon an alternate route: by branching out on to a pedestal of more traditional rock-sounding songs (e.g. Charmer, On Call, McFearless, and Camaro). Considered to be bravura by some, arguably, the move resulted in their best compilation of tracks to date – and that’s after you factor in their latest album release. The shift away from southern rock with these songs was combated with continued observations of it elsewhere; happily done, in my opinion, in Fans, Arizona and Ragoo.

So, what is there that one can impart with about this Only By The Night? I’ve already told you all about my impressions of Crawl, and though Sex On Fire is a catchier song, realistically, it’s not risky enough to outweigh the quality that Crawl brought to the table. As a single, Sex On Fire is shoddy; shameless title, shameless lyrics, shameless effort. Going on what I thought of the album at first, I would be obliged to confess that I heard very little of value that pressed on from Because Of The Times. Use Somebody (slated to be an upcoming single release) played on the repetition of Sex On Fire, and never intensified past the first verse and chorus. The “wedding bells” of 17 would have been appositely placed on Youth And Young Manhood; quite frankly, I found that song to be a little too immature for a band that had ostensibly entered adulthood before our eyes, with the bells being a childish, superfluous addition – imitative of conquest, and resonating vehemently, but contemptuously on our ear drums. Irritatingly enough, 17 has a beautiful chorus attached to it. Cold Desert, supposedly a sedative of an outro track, just drones on for five and a half minutes, putting the listener to sleep through boredom, not relaxation.

I’ll call a halt to the Kings Of Leon bashing now, as I enjoy their music, and think highly of them. The album wasn’t horrible. It was just fell a smidgen lower that where my expectations of the aforementioned would have placed it. And I allowed myself to get riled up about that. One thing I must say, on the other hand, is this; the opening track, Closer, is a gem. If you chose to listen to but one song on this album, let it be this one.