The band roped in Markus Dravs, whose production credits include Coldplay and Arcade Fire, and his influence is evident in the album’s shiny, anthemic sound. WALLS, an acronym of We Are Like Love Songs, was significant in that it was the first Kings of Leon album not to be produced by long-time collaborator Angelo Petraglia. While Mechanical Bull is a vast step up from its predecessor, it falls slightly short of the return to form that everybody was hoping for. Unfortunately though, the album has one too many lacklustre moments Comeback Story, with its pretty guitar line and its whistled chorus, could be the soundtrack to an advert for Disneyland, Beautiful War is one of the few attempts at balladry that are ineffective and ponderous, while Tonight is a bombastic cut that would fit nicely on Come Around Sundown.
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The real highlights come in the form of Don’t Matter and Temple the former is a Queens of the Stone Age-style romp and a thrilling update of their old sound, while the latter is a piece of joyful, melodic hard rock, on which Caleb professes to “take one in the temple” for a girl he’s too shy to approach. There are several nods to the 70s here, including the glam rock indebted Rock City, and the funky, Earth, Wind & Fire-esque strut of Family Tree. This is exemplified by breezy opener Supersoaker, which has a Springsteen-esque riff and a carefree spirit not to dissimilar to their early work. With Mechanical Bull, they needed a return to form, and what we got was a solid, yet unremarkable effort that sounded like the Kings were beginning to enjoy being in a band again. Things in the Followill camp took a sour turn after the release of Come Around Sundown following a US tour which saw a drunken Caleb abandon the stage during a set and an infamous incident with a horde of pigeons, the band announced that they would be taking a hiatus.
For the most part, they sound completely uninspired, and while the album isn’t downright awful, it’s a representation of the Kings at their creative low. I can’t knock the band for sticking to the formula which catapulted them to the top of the charts, but there isn’t a single song on Come Around Sundown that compares to the stratospheric Sex on Fire. I’d argue that it’s also the worst song Kings of Leon have ever put to record. The absolute worst of the bunch however is Mary, which awkwardly blends chugging guitars, stomping glam-rock rhythms and doo-wop vocals into an ugly, cheesy mess. But the rest of the album ranges from exceedingly average at best, to utterly cringeworthy at worst. The MOR nature of songs such as The Face and Pickup Truck smack of a band coasting in second gear, and Back Down South is a sleep-inducing attempt at country that doesn’t really go anywhere. Lead single Radioactive is powered by angular guitar riffs before giving way to a soaring chorus, No Money surges along with a growling bassline, and there are some pleasant grooves scattered throughout. I’ll admit, there are some positives here. I had an extremely hard time taking notes while listening to it because I could barely find anything worth noting down. 7) Come Around Sundown (2010)Ĭome Around Sundown saw Kings of Leon fully embrace the radio-friendly sound that established them as one of the world’s biggest rock bands, and it made for a totally bland and disappointing record that ended up sorely lacking in memorable hooks. Saying that has probably telegraphed the order of this list somewhat, but after a long, hard debate with myself, these are the albums of Kings of Leon, ranked from worst to first.
I’m not going to question their overwhelming chart success, but for a while, their music has lacked the edginess that made them special in the first place, and I can understand why many fans clamour for them to return to their southern rock roots. I fell in love with the energy and the rawness of their earlier material when I was in secondary school, but the stadium-rock sound they grew to adopt has never had that same impact on me. Kings of Leon are a bit of a mixed bag for me to be honest. As time went on, their raucous, thrilling music had matured, and the release of Sex on Fire marked the completion of the band’s transformation from scruffy garage rockers into the multi-platinum selling behemoth we know today. Coming from a religious background, the Followill brothers (and their cousin) emerged at a time when indie music was thriving across the world, becoming known as the ‘Southern Strokes’. It’s safe to say that Kings of Leon aren’t the same band today as they were when they burst onto the scene.
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