Album Review: Kings of Leon - Only By The Night

Kings of Leon is one of those bands where the name completely misleads the public. When I see a band called Kings of Leon, I think Fountains of Wayne -- new wave/nerd rock. This is one of the main reasons that I have successfully avoided Kings of Leon for several years.

"Sex on Fire" changed all of that.

Per usual, I like to take a listen to the Grammy winners that I haven't heard of to see if they deserved the award, because I'm a snob like that. So I listened to the song that won best rock song by group or duo, and my pre-formed assumptions were blown away. This was no nerd rock. This was something different entirely.

What exactly, even after repeated listens of the album, is harder to define.

It seems that with their latest effort, Kings of Leon have covered most of the different types of music that has been popular over the last 30 years. There are times where you can hear Snow Patrol in their slowly progressing ballads. There is a southern rock bassline in "Revelry" that brings to mind Skynyrd. And at some parts peppered throughout the album are hard rock riffs that sound like a more refined Led Zeppelin. For the most part this mix of musical styles serves well as a pacing through the album.

Then comes their dance obsession, which strikes of the Killers in its ridiculousness.

The real weakness of the entire album is rooted from this: the inability to say anything of substance. Every once in awhile Caleb Followill will hit on something deep, but for the most part it's shallow lyrics about dancing and sex. Sometimes both.

Another weakness is that the album has been stacked in the beginning/middle of the album, leaving the end of the album very thin by comparison. I am usually happy to find three songs in a row that are very good, and in this case there are four: "Sex on Fire," "Use Somebody," "Manhattan," and "Revelry." However, when these four are only four of five good songs of an album are stuck together, it means that the flow of the album will undoubtedly suffer. And that is how Only by the Night goes from "17" onward.

This more than anything is what defines the album. It becomes more of a collection of good songs surrounded by average ones, and less an album. So there's some good stuff to listen to on here by itself, but the ride as a complete CD is lacking, which could be why the CD did not win a Grammy for its complete performance, and only the performance of its single.

Scoring:

Replayability: (17/20) The songs I listed are great songs, and they cover the different moods I am usually in when I want to listen to music. The rest of the album doesn't require many more listens, but I'll keep coming back to tracks 3 through 6.

Music: (17/20) With a lot of different types of songs and an eclectic style, Kings of Leon definitely delivers on all instruments, including the singers' erratic, seemingly out-of-control voice.

Lyrics: (14/20) While not completely mindless, there is something off with a rock singer always talking about his dancing and calling himself a "dancing machine." Plus the lyrics of "Sex on Fire" are downright ridiculous. Kiddie like play? Really?

Completeness: (15/20) While there is a great run of four songs in a row, the overall ending of the album really hurts this score.

Emotional Pull: (14/20) With no really powerful lyrics, there is nothing that really gets the listener pulled into the song, unless you can empathize with finding high school girls attractive like in "17."

Total Score: 77

Grade: C+

While the entire album isn't terrible, it ruins its chance at being a great album by the lethargic end. Still, Kings of Leon has at least put me on notice now: when I hear something new from them, I certainly won't run away like before.

Check, Check Plus, X
Closer √+
Crawl √
Sex on Fire √+
Use Somebody √+
Manhattan √+
Revelry √+
17 √
Notion √
I Want You X
Be Somebody √
Cold Desert √


I should be doing this more often. Music has just not been interesting to me lately. I blame Chad Kroeger.

Sit tight til the next grade,
RRC