I’m going to give the Kings of Leon a chance. I was never a big fan; I thought ‘Youth and Young Manhood’ was a good album, but there was something about their style that I never really bought into. ‘Only By The Night’, however, got a reaction from me. I hated it; especially the singles, and they’d obviously sold out for fans. But with new album ‘Come Around Sundown’ out, I’ve decided to give them a chance to win me over.
‘Come Around Sundown’ has some promising tracks. There is none of the triumphant but vacuous style stuff from ‘Only By The Night’ and a return to an older Kings of Leon sound – at least to a point. Lead single ‘Radioactive’ is the most arena-ready song on show and has the same echoey sound as ‘OBTN’, but with a more hooking guitar riff and a return to home values for Caleb Followill and Co.
Opener ‘The End’ has a mellow feel with rumbling drums that draw you in further, and ‘Pony Up’ has an interesting and enticing guitar riff that keeps you riveted. ‘The Immortals’ is also appealing with an almost euphoric chorus and ever-evolving bass line, while the gritty ‘Mary’ deserves a listen. The highlight however is ‘Pyro’; delightfully tormented Followill vocals, a touching performance and one of the only songs that builds well.
However after that, it begins to run a bit thin. ‘The Face’ sets the tone; lumbering pace and a lack of real direction see it not really go anywhere. Drummer Nathan Followill promised a ‘more chilled out’ and ‘beach-y’ album, perhaps mirrored in the choice of album title and artwork, and that’s what we get. But the problem is shown in ‘Mi Amigo’; which plods along without any real energy and almost a lack of willpower.
‘Back Down South’ has the feel of lo-fi bluegrass ‘hootenanny’, and ‘No Money’ has a punky start but just flounders within itself with the telling lyric – ‘give me something I can believe in/Give me something to walk me away’. ‘Beach Side’ is sparse and doesn’t evolve into anything and the bright-sounding ‘Birthday’ has a good chorus that fails to lift the song out of its malaise. And by the time you’ve hit final track ‘Pickup Truck’, the nonsense lyrics and deteriorating drive of the album wear very thin.
‘Come Around Sundown’ is an album unsure of itself. Kings are stepping back from the bold bravado of ‘Only By The Night’, having learned the lessons of commercial success it taught them, but this release is not a return to their old style. I gave it a chance and it has impressed me to a point; it’s much better than ‘OBTN’. But it has no real pace and until the Followills know what band they want to be; the bluesy Kings of old or the band that wrote ‘Sex On Fire’; their records will suffer.
A definite improvement if not a wholly enjoyable album, but here's my favourite track 'Pyro'.
NWR
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