Kings of Leon: "Only by the Night"
By Maha Abbas “Only By the Night” needs more cowbell. Kings of Leon, the band of Tennessee-born kin, released their latest album on Sept. 23. Boring and prosaic, it is a step down from their previous work. “Depressive” sums it up; emotionally depressive, with minor chords dominating the tracks, and technically depressive, with a drought of imagination in song structure. No intricate vamping, no real charisma in the vocals. The track “Manhattan” exemplifies the melancholy route the band took with this album, with its slow beat and the stiffness of the vocals. Listeners can only find a touch of solace in the upbeat bass line – a musical “Say whattt?” The single “Sex on Fire,” arguably the best track, is the bastard child of their previous album "Because of the Times." It is unfortunately not a cohesive piece of the current one because of its standout catchiness. “17" opens fishily, with a riff almost identical to OK Go's "Here it Goes Again," then dissipates into mediocrity. "Notion" is a definite highlight, because it is the exception to the rule – major chords make this one less lethargic, though the pace still lags. In fact, the most fundamental change on "Only by the Night" is the shift in tempo. Where there once was a brilliant feel for time, there is now a lapse in mood. The southern rock motif turns sour, leaving everything feeling awkwardly like the last song on prom night – lackluster lights and tunes at 60 beats per minute. Though singer Caleb Followill does utilize his vocals in an innovative way on this latest release, his standard lyrical themes carry through, still rooted in an incessant and insinuated perverseness – all jailbait and sex. The career-spanning recurrence of suggestive vignettes about 17-year-old girls is noteworthy. In lines old and new, Followill expresses the allure of young women more than enough to be discounted as a coincidence (i.e. " Slow night so long, she's frenching out the flavor / She's 17, but I done went and plum forgot it," from “Aha Shake Heartbreak,” and "Oh, she's only 17... I could call you baby, I could call you, dammit, it's one in a million," from “Only by the Night"). Kings of Leon are often clustered into the same category as bands like The Strokes. It's a concept most of us don't understand, considering the two groups' sounds are about as alike as Nashville and New York. Instead, they are similar in that they both constructed their careers with a blend of musical expertise and Hollywood cool. Kings of Leon will always have their die-hard fans, but when the night's over and they finish their set, band members can be seen making out with the likes of Cory Kennedy. And, mind you, this does have its consequences – it alludes to a gloomy answer to the question of hype versus substance. Just like The Strokes lost their raw sound, Kings of Leon's career is becoming another flash in the pan. |
finally, someone who's familiar with their old stuff and doesn't like their new stuff. i agree wholeheartedly.
just reading the lyrics from "slow night so long" made me remember the unique vocals, the pacing, the tempo. the new shit feels overproduced. too smooth. too commercial.
All Points West
When I saw them at All Points West, they had the joyless routine of a band about to break up.