Kings of Leon - Only by the Night

An RH Online Retrospective

The eagerly awaited fourth studio album from the Followill foursome; the UK’s third biggest selling number one album of 2008; two Brit awards; three Grammy nominations; a UK number one hit single. It is fair to say that the boys from Nashville, Tennessee have come a long way. Moving away from the quirky Southern Rock sound of Youth and Young Manhood and Aha Shake Heartbreak, towards an epic, anthemic, stadium trajectory.

From the opening moment we hear the familiar sounding two-note ‘Because of the Times’ guitar riff, only with a delightful twist of a gut-punching snare drum, and a second effects guitar, creating incredible unearthly phonics in the background. And then… Caleb, his expressive, raucous voice, singing about pure elation, while the musical storm bubbles up from the sea around him, to generate a sinister but musically enriching overture.

Following ‘Closer’ is the grimy, distorted guitar sound of ‘Crawl’, a truly anthemic record with everything you could possibly desire from a rock song. All about the guitars. ‘Sex on Fire’ follows, with admittedly clichéd lyrics, giving listeners one of the biggest sing-along anthems of the year. ‘Use Somebody’, meanwhile, steers off into completely new KOL territory; a rock power ballad? Caleb’s longing vocals and the infectious ‘oooh woooah’s’ in the chorus just broadened the band’s listener audience even further.

‘Manhattan’ shows evidence that KOL have not lost their roots and influences of the southern, countrified sound, and even in ‘I want you’ with the almost banjo-like subtlety on top of the sturdy bass riff.

The outro track ‘Cold Desert’ is as raw and pure as can be. Recorded in one sitting, Followill reeled all but the first verse completely off his tongue while in a drunken state of euphoria. His honest and meaningful lyrics are supported greatly by the expressive profundity in the music. A soft drum rhythm behind a driving bass riff with eclectic and experimental guitar sounds eventually fading out, drawing only by the night to a alleviating close.

It is no doubt that ‘Only by the Night’ has made the family Followill incontestably massive, and truly one of the biggest stadium bands of 2008/09.

V.B.