With 2007's Because of the Times, Kings of Leon ventured out of the garage and into the arena. Tracks like "Black Thumbnail" and "Camaro" were bold, anthemic rock songs that built upon the barnyard stomp of Youth & Young Manhood, and Because of the Times topped the U.K. charts upon its debut, officially crowning the Kings as rock & roll royalty in the process. Only by the Night arrives one year later, marking the band's fastest turnaround between albums; it also furthers the epic sound that Times introduced, flaunting a set of ringing guitars and radio-ready melodies that push the band away from the Allman Brothers' camp. If anything, much of this album takes up residence in U2's cathedral, particularly during the one-two-three punch of "Sex on Fire," "Use Somebody," and "Manhattan." Caleb Followill doesn't adopt Bono's political agenda, but the same sort of uplift exists throughout the record, which -- during its best moments -- rivals Aha Shake Heartbreak as the band's best work to date.
Like many big-sounding albums, Only by the Night is a polarizing piece of work, one that targets new fans at the expense of those who wish Kings of Leon had never shaved their beards or discovered post-'70s rock. To rope in the skeptics, the strongest tracks are pushed toward the album's first half. "Crawl" flexes the band's rock & roll muscle, melding Led Zeppelin-styled crunch with the experimental guitar buzz of U2's Achtung Baby, while "Sex on Fire" makes up for its goofy title with a meteoric chorus tailored to Caleb's voice. (He sounds fantastic throughout the record, even if his vocals continue to be garbled by some untraceable accent, as if he's auditioning for the Jodie Foster role in a Broadway adaptation of Nell.) Rounding out the hit-filled segment are "Use Somebody" and "Manhattan," where Matthew Followill cloaks his guitar riffs in reverb and bassist Jared Followill takes the spotlight sporadically, popping up for quick melodic fills before ducking back into the mix. While past Kings of Leon albums concerned themselves with alcohol, women, and other hedonistic themes, those two songs are nothing but pop/rock grandeur, and Caleb howls their hopeful lyrics like Bono's American-born cousin. Only by the Night focuses on textures and experimentation during the album's latter half, but most songs still deliver some sort of Technicolor melody, from "Notion" (one of the only tracks featuring piano) to the unexpected chorus of "Be Somebody." Taken as a whole, Only by the Night targets the audience that approved Kings of Leon's sonic shift in 2007, leaving older fans free to damn these tracks for their consciously grand approach. Yes, the album is indebted to U2. Yes, it briefly veers close to the same territory occupied by Meat Loaf and Journey, if only in the unchecked passion of Caleb's voice ("It's still the greatest! The greatest!"). But Only by the Night is still a potent Kings of Leon record, and the guys have never defined their ambition so clearly before.
The Kings of Leon are a band that have done well so far without attracting too much mainstream attention, that Reading & Glasto fans could still come away singing their praises and not look Uncool. And when I heard a lot of hype surrounding this album and the band prior to Christmas I was unsettled by the thought of the band beginning to show signs of giving up creatively and producing music th...
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It's been quite a long time huh? Well, if it hadn't been because of the Kings of Leon, I still wouldn't be this urged to make a new post here.I am digging their new album "Only By The Night." I won't dare compare it with "Because of the Times" but personally, I think this one's more different--different in a good sense.I still get the old Kings of Leon feel though. The riffs and the lines are q...
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Kings Of Leon are of one of the most hated bands by Pitchfork. If you don't agree just look at their scores and Pitchfork just manages to keep including reviews of the band despite their clear dislike. Anyway, I got Only by Night in the mail even though I never asked for it. It would be [...] No related posts.
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Ok gave the album a listen to a lot. I love it but they're sound has gotten dark, way dark. They were quoted in Spin magazine saying that this album had a lot of alcohol, fights, and anger contributing to it. I can definitely see that. In "Because of the Times" Caleb was saying in The Runner that "I talk to Jesus, Jesus says I'm ok." Now in their new song Cold Desert, Caleb claims that "Je...
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...because I don't think one hand could have withstood all my excitement right now. BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE IS COMING BACK TO ATLANTA!!! It took them long enough. Over two years to be exact. Silly Canadians. Maybe they actually listened to my heartfelt plea on Myspace? Haha. Regardless, THEY'RE COMING! Which means I have to put off seeing Minus the Bear (again). Oh well. Minus is quite Georgia-frie...
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The first song on Kings of Leon’s new album Only By The Night is brilliant. It sounds spooky and atmospheric, like a gothic dystopia. Caleb mentions the last ‘2000 years chasing paganist whores‘ The rest of the album doesn’t live up to this but it’s still good. The other standout is ‘Use Somebody‘. [...]
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Kings of Leon - Use SomebodyThe Kings of Leon also added some European tour stops this winter. Tickets go on sale this week.tour dates:February 11: KB Halle (Copenhagen, Denmark) February 14: Razzmataz (Barcelona, Spain) February 15: La Riviera (Madrid, Spain) February 20: Olympia (Paris, France) February 21: MHM (Amsterdam, Holland) February 23: Columbiahalle (Berlin, Germany) February 26: Li...
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...because I don't think one hand could have withstood all my excitement right now. BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE IS COMING BACK TO ATLANTA!!! It took them long enough. Over two years to be exact. Silly Canadians. Maybe they actually listened to my heartfelt plea on Myspace? Haha. Regardless, THEY'RE COMING! Which means I have to put off seeing Minus the Bear (again). Oh well. Minus is quite Georgia-frie...
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In my own personal effort to make the Kings of Leon as big as they are in the UK here in the states, here is the first batch of homemade movies the band have released leading up to the Septemebr 23rd release of their new album Only By The Night. They're just like regular dudes, but with a Southern drawl.
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Morning world... mwahI will be in Manhattan in the next few months, this just amped up the excitement level a tad!!! yee freaking haw...
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I think that this is an absolute pearler!!!!!!Let me know what you think...
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Head over to LastFM.com to take a listen or two to Kings of Leon's upcoming release, Only By The Night.Personally I like it, but it is a little more poppy than I would have liked. At times there are hints of their past albums, but it definitely takes the move to radio-friendly music a step beyond their last release, Because of the Times. Regardless, it is worth checking out, for sure.Speaking...
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Head over to rcrdlbl.com to get a free download of RAC (Andre Anjos of Pragmatic) remixing Kings of Leon's "Use Somebody."Read more at SONICDISSONANCE.COM
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Revelry: noisy partying or merrymaking. Well he doesn't make it sound like very much fun.
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So about two weeks ago I picked up the new Kings of Leon album "Only By the Night", more or less on a whim because they have had a lot of press lately and I wanted to see what it was all about. I have their albums "Youth & Young Manhood" and "Because of the Times", which I enjoyed a good deal, but never enough to put them into heavy rotation and memorize them word for word. When they first cam...
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It's been quite a long time huh? Well, if it hadn't been because of the Kings of Leon, I still wouldn't be this urged to make a new post here.I am digging their new album "Only By The Night." I won't dare compare it with "Because of the Times" but personally, I think this one's more different--different in a good sense.I still get the old Kings of Leon feel though. The riffs and the lines are q...
More >
The first song on Kings of Leon’s new album Only By The Night is brilliant. It sounds spooky and atmospheric, like a gothic dystopia. Caleb mentions the last ‘2000 years chasing paganist whores‘ The rest of the album doesn’t live up to this but it’s still good. The other standout is ‘Use Somebody‘. [...]
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Stateside-spawned stadium-fillers Kings Of Leon have revealed the tracklisting for their fourth album, Only By The Night~~
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When it comes to reviews of the new Kings Of Leon track, there shall be none greater than commenter orton1227's, which read: "'Sex On Fire'??? Sounds like they wrote a song about their struggles with STDs." And when it comes to sounds, there shall be none sweeter than hearing Caleb scream just before the "YOUR SEX IS ON FIRE" line, all with orton1227 in mind. You should really maintain that sup...
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Judging from the comments on Kings Of Leon's "Sex On Fire" video, it's clear some of you think the Followill boys, their carefully coiffed hair, good Southern gene, are themselves works of art. Well, Leon lovers, now you can get a look at the image that bedecks the band's forthcoming fourth album Only By the Night. Because KoL are more popular in Europe than at home, the US of A gets its own de...
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Album A Day, 01-01-2009Every year as I work on my year end lists I end up stumbling across an album that I had bypassed earlier in the year for one reason or another (usually it gets lumped in with the indie stuff I ignore), and it ends up being incredible. Last year it was Jay-Z's American Gangster. This year it appears to be Kings of Leon and their 2008 release Only By The Night. Suffice it t...
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| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 Closer |
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| 2 Crawl |
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| 3 Sex On Fire |
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| 4 Use Somebody |
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| 5 Manhattan |
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| 6 Revelry |
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| 7 17 |
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| 8 Notion |
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| 9 I Want You |
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| 10 Be Somebody |
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| 11 Cold Desert |
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Click to purchase…
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 "Only by the Night")
