ONLY BY THE NIGHT
KINGS OF LEON
CD
Barcode: 0886973519929
£8.93
Delivered
With their raw, organic sound, Tennessee's Kings of Leon emerged in 2003 as Southern rock for the indie-garage set, sort of a Strokes for the South. While there were hints of a new direction on their third album, BECAUSE OF THE TIMES, its follow-up, ONLY BY THE NIGHT, follows through with a near-reinvention of the Kings' sound. ONLY BY THE NIGHT could be mistaken for avant-indie cult heroes the Liars on a Southern vacation, as post-punk angularity, distorto-funk bass lines, and clattering percussion are processed through what sounds like the world's biggest fuzzbox. While there are old-glory moments of garagey abandon, most of these tracks sound like someone sat and carefully considered the best way to frame them. And that's what makes the difference between having a good band and making a good album.
[Reviews]
Spin (p.108) - 4 stars out of 5 -- [T]he Kings of Leon still rule with a messy hand, applying rough magic and blurry, slurred imagery to their swashbuckling rock.
Entertainment Weekly (p.95) - Throughout NIGHT, frontman Caleb Followill wails forlornly about cheap thrills and true love while his two brothers (and a cousin) bash out spooky, raw-edged riffs that rarely go where you expect them to. -- Grade: B+
Mojo (Publisher) (p.98) - 3 stars out of 5 -- ONLY BY THE NIGHT is packed with songs about being rootless, alienated, misunderstood....It's impressive stuff.
Blender (Magazine) (p.108) - It conjures up images of a more refined band -- the songs have overall a slower pace, and so sounds more considered, more deliberate, more reflective.n
