Kings Of Leon - Only By The Night

Sep 12, 2008

The Kings Of Leon seem to have something of a Samson complex - the less hairy they become, the more their musical power diminishes. Having gone from the bearded, ballsy rock of Youth and Young Manhood to last year's significantly more (smooth) chin-strokingly introspective Because Of The Times, you could be forgiven, upon listening to Only By The Night, for wondering whether this is even the same band.

All this however, is completely irrelevant as they seem to have struck the same inexplicable chord with the record buying public and the gig going fraternity as Muse. Indeed, at the time of writing, they are currently duking it out with Katy Perry for the number 1 slot in the UK singles chart, having sold out gigs at Wembley Arena and the O2 in London alone. Will we see a Muse style Wembley Stadium event in the next few months? I wouldn't be surprised at all.

Sadly, the music has unquestionably suffered. There's nothing wrong with a band progressing their sound, and it would have been detrimental to the KOL if they'd just stuck out another set of YOYM style Southern stompers. However, the more cynical folk are bound to question the reasons behind the changes. There's no doubt about it, this is a far mellower album than any of their previous outings, and it wouldn't be completely out of order to replace the word mellow with 'slightly bland'. Having seen themselves hit the big time in the UK, they're still courting popularity in their home country, and it's not unreasonable to suggest that the US mainstream prefer a more traditional formula from their rock stars. With OBTN, this is exactly what the KOL deliver. You can almost hear the conversation the Followhill brothers had, lamenting the fact that The Fray and Dave Matthews are getting all the radio play before penning the drippy 'Use Somebody' or album closer 'Cold Desert'.

It's a shame, as the album actually starts well with the slightly psychedelic 'Closer', a track that could teach The Verve a thing or two about how to use your silly background noises, and the heavy 'Crawl'. Even single 'Sex On Fire' is closer to what the Kings do best, focussing on the rock and trying to ignore the over production that blights the album throughout.

It's not an awful album, and fans will find plenty to love here, but it seems that the KOL are trying to have their cake and eat it by both pandering to the US airwaves and attempting to hold onto their existing fanbase. Their next long player may see them have to make a tough choice.

Harry Powell

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