Kings Of Leon - Only by the night

Kings of Leon have always been a band able to draw up great deals of hype and attention at the drop of a hat. The build up to this, their fourth studio album to date, hasn’t failed to meet this standard, as an early leak of the record made it’s way onto the Internet forums worldwide within the blink of an eye. As a result, fans of KOL’s most recent release “Because of the times” have been blessed with what is clearly a step further into their new musical deviation, whilst early album enthusiasts find themselves alienated further from the sound that they once knew.

Due for official release on the 22nd September, the album opens with a delicately reverb friendly track: “Closer.” No more than 30 seconds into the album it is clear that atmospheric epicness is flavour of the day, drawing further from the southern rock roots implanted into the first two albums. Arpeggios and delays blend together to create a song that portrays this new sound perfectly; laid behind lyrics such as: “Stranded in this spooky town / Stoplights are swaying and the phone lines are down” the thematic idea of developing atmosphere is clear.

This moves swiftly on to a more traditionally Bass-driven KOL classic “Crawl” in which driving riffs escort the listener into the album’s leading single “Sex On Fire.” Sing along choruses and catchy melodies find themselves amongst this sure-fire hit in the band’s upcoming UK arena tour. All of which get the album off to what would appear to be a promising beginning from which great things might emerge. The next track: “Use somebody” delivers just that, as rich vocal textures and powerfully thrashy drums send the listener on a journey that turns out to be the highlight of what “Only By The Night” has to offer.

From this point on however, it seems to be a case of what’s happening more and more with releases of late: a disappointing conclusion to let down a promising opening. Almost every song after the fifth track feels as if it’s either unfinished or quite simply isn’t up to the standard that we’ve come to expect from the Tennessee four piece. It could easily be said that the second half of this album feels more like the leftovers from “Because Of The Times” B-sides collection, rather than fresh new material.

“Only By The Night” shows a band with a clear vision as to how they want their sound to evolve, and to some extent exhibits this new sound perfectly; but it leaves the listener wanting more, if only for the wrong reasons. It feels as though, after an 18 month wait since the last effort, this album should have been something great; and almost was with the opening tracks’ potential; but yet again a rushed, unsatisfactory conclusion leads to this album’s downfall.

Release Date: 22/9/08 // Sony BMG

Related posts:

1. Kings Of Leon - On Call This, the debut single from Kings Of Leon’s third album...
2. Kings Of Leon announce dates Kings of Leon have announced two UK arena dates for...
3. One Night Only - Started A Fire With their single ‘Just for Tonight’ having become a bit...
4. Tokyo Police Club @ Night And Day, Manchester Fucking fantastic, I’ve woken up with one excruciatingly painful deaf...
5. Ten Kens: Ten Kens Desperate to find themselves absent of any generic clichéd sound,...