There are few bands with as much mystique as Kings of Leon. Brothers, and sons of a preacher, Caleb (vocals), Jared (bass, synthesizer) and Nathan Followill (drums) along with cousin Matthew Followill (guitar) play the devil’s music — to sum it up. They had a critically-acclaimed debut, an acclaimed follow-up and an epic, daunting third record. After all the alleged drug use, promiscuous sex and rehab the group has gone through, the hangover has finally hit. Their newest foray, Only By The Night, is a record best experienced in a candlelit room with a partner.
Their sound occupies more space this time around, with voices echoing off into the air and guitars lingering in reverb. Caleb’s voice is much less of a growl or a drawl like on past projects, and more of a croon, especially in songs like the verses of “Use Somebody.” You keep waiting for the band to kick the tempo up a notch, but it never comes and you never seem to mind. They’ve slowed their songs down and made them very night-friendly.
Kings of Leon have always been overtly sexual, even when including religious imagery. Just take a look at the song titles (“I Want You,” “Sex on Fire,” “Use Somebody”). “17” is dripping with Lolita-esque eroticism as it ponders an underage sexpot (eerily similar to “15” by Rilo Kiley, albeit from a first-person perspective) singing lines like “So I could call you baby, I could call you” about a likely underage, depending on the state, girl whose “Spanish tongue…made me wanna stay.” There aren’t many loud come-ons, just slow burning croons that seduce over time; it’s a delayed release of lust over the course of 45 minutes.
Caleb’s voice, no matter how quavering, always has an air of desire. I can see a ton of these songs being used over sex scenes in indie movies for years. It’s a really solid record from beginning to end, even if there aren’t many popping singles. Only By The Night works as an album, played all the way through during the night and, as a very atmospheric work, it succeeds greatly.
With the exception of “Sex on Fire”, which plays like a good, if significantly less metaphoric or subtle, companion piece to “Molly’s Chambers” [the hit first single from their first album, Youth and Young Manhood], the entire record plays like different variations of rock slow jams. Think southern-fried rock mixed with R&B. Kings of Leon maintains its air of classic, southern rock its members have become known for, and they’re not breaking sonic ground with this stuff, but nobody’s ever accused Kings of Leon of being forward-thinking. They’re not revolutionaries, they’re just really good at what they do.
A lot of odd things were said about Kings of Leon through their early years. They got unfairly and inexplicably compared to Lynyrd Skynyrd for being a good rock band from the south, and were allegedly virgins on their first tour; but four albums in, they’ve established themselves as a very strong force in rock. This album saw the exploration of a completely new kind of sound within their parameters, and it begs excitement for whatever direction the band chooses to go in next.