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Rock and roll akin to the stuff of Woodstock and the Summer of Love has made a comeback in the last five years, thanks in large part to Kings of Leon. On their debut album, 2003’s Youth & Young Manhood, and their subsequent album, Aha Shake, Heartbreak, the three brothers and cousin hailing from Nashville, Tenn., brought back a style of rock music that had been pushed aside by the arena glam-rock of the ’70s and ’80s. Singing about everything from transsexuals to an inability to perform in the sack, the two albums had a raw, unpolished and unapologetic Southern folk-rock sound that hadn’t been seen since the heydays of Lynard Skynard and Creedence Clearwater Revival.
On their fourth full-length album, Only by the Night, Kings of Leon try to add some maturity and experience to their sound. Their songs are fuller, with each track containing more layers — and therefore more production — than those on their previous three albums. The effect is a very polished sound, with every chord, drumbeat and lyric sounding crystal clear. But that’s the problem — the songs are too produced, too polished. Where their previous album, Because of the Times, was the perfect marriage of the Southern rawness that distinguished them and the more experienced sound they wanted, Only by the Night sounds as if it was run through production 100 times over until every minuscule detail was perfected. The result is an album that doesn’t feel as authentic, one that sounds more like Bruce Springsteen and U2 than the raw Zeppelin/Skynard sound that makes Kings of Leon so great.
It’s not that Only by the Night is bad. The album features a lot more lyrical complexity than its predecessors. The first track, “Closer,” with its eerie opening reverb and haunting lyrics about lost love, is one of Kings of Leon’s best yet. “Crawl” offers the same formula for hard rocking that Time’s “Black Thumbnail” did — minimal lyrics and a lot of power chords — and lead singer Caleb Followill’s raspy, gritty voice is at its best on this album, particularly on tracks like “I Want You” and “Frontier City.” Still, though it has sparks of genius, longtime fans of Kings of Leon will find Only by the Night pushing them back to the band’s older albums rather than inspiring hope in things to come.
Sound Off
Last post: Oct. 15, 2008 at 3:10 pm
J_fisher7 (Josh Fisher) said on Oct. 9, 2008 at 9:11 pm:
I think he's talking about time spent in the studio making everything sound the way it's precisely intended. U2 is one of the biggest culprits of this, in my opinion.
Regarding this album, I heard the single, and I didn't want to hear much else. This review doesn't come as much of a surprise to me.
When KOL burst onto the scene, they were transitioning from a Xtian rock band to a regular rock band and they felt free and empowered to write songs about taper jean girls and what have you with a beat you can bob your head to.
Now they're taking advantage of their cashflow and spending it on extraneous recording time. I'm sure they still put on a good show, though.
Michell Eloy (unregistered user) said on Oct. 10, 2008 at 9:48 am:
I guess I'm not saying that those bands aren't authentic. Bad choice of words on my part. What I guess I'm saying is that, at least for me, the beauty of Kings of Leon, like Led Zeppelin and Lynard Skynard, is that their albums sounded more.....raw, not a lot of additions to the instrumentation.
Matt Carey (Matthew Carey) said on Oct. 10, 2008 at 8:38 pm:
I would totally agree with this article, this album was extremely disappointing. It's like they're selling out by making stadium rock to expand their fan base. Also, I've seen Kings of Leon twice and I've found there live shows slightly bland because they act very robotic on stage. My Morning Jacket on the other hand, puts on a helluva show because they actually get into their music.
Seansie (Sean Collander) said on Oct. 14, 2008 at 12:01 pm:
While I agree with some parts of this article (a little overproduced), I would hardly say that the album is disappointing. As a fan of KoL from day 1, I find myself listening to this album everyday. The songs layers that you talk about are absolutely superb. Just because each song is not 3 power chords repeated over and over doesn't mean they are selling out. I find this album more akin to TVOTR's newest album, with sweeping guitar parts and vocal melodies that blend perfectly to create one whole sound. I love this album and don't see how anyone can dislike it.
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Sarah (Sarah Clemmons) said on Oct. 9, 2008 at 12:10 pm:
What makes Zeppelin and Skynyrd authentic but Springsteen and U2 inauthentic? I like all of these bands and I don't see your point here.