Review: Kings of Leon - Come Around Sundown

The Followill boys, Caleb, Jared, Nathan and Matthew (consisting of three brothers and a cousin) have released their newest album, Come Around Sundown. This marks the fifth studio album released by the Kings of Leon and aims to take their music in a bit of a different direction from their previous album. If you don't already know (and how could you not?) Kings of Leon has risen to great fame in the United States with their previous release Only by the Night (2008), more specifically with the song Use Somebody, which was pretty much inescapable in 2009....but of course, us Americans never gave them the widespread recognition they deserved up until now.

Kings of Leon - Radioactive

Kings of Leon - Pyro

Kings of Leon - The Immortals

Read the full review after the jump!

They released their first studio album Youth and Young Manhood way back in 2003 receiving critical acclaim for their nostalgic southern rock sound. Rolling Stone even named it one of the 10 best albums of 2003.  But KOL's recognition stateside paled drastically in comparison to the fans following that emerged in the UK and Australia. The Kings released two more albums, Aha Shake Heartbreak (2004) and Because of the Times (2007 - and my personal favorite), each one further cementing their place in the world of rock n' roll. Frontman Caleb's voice has gone through remarkable changes over the course of their albums showing maturity, more creative vocal styling and proving that he has one of the best voices in rock today.  Having seen them in concert a few times, I can say without a doubt that they sound just as good, if not better, live than they do in the studio (which is saying a lot for music today - *ahem auto-tune!).

Come Around Sundown is once again shifting their styles a bit and bringing in more country influences as well as a little more mellow sound. Their first single Radioactive is a song with a great gospel vibe to it. With the lyrics when the roll is called up yonder, I hope you see me there, it's hard not to see a religious reference bringing them back to their roots (their father was a traveling preacher for most of their childhood).

Some stand out tracks on the album are Pyro, a great yearning yet strong song with the consistent lament, I won't ever be your cornerstone. Another favorite is The Immortals, with some great lyrics about finding yourself and just getting through daily life. Also a bit different about this album is they brought in some other instruments that wouldn't have previously been heard on a KOL record. Back Down South has a beautiful fiddle part in the beginning and throughout and also the track Mi Amigo has some tenor and baritone sax throughout.

Overall, I think this album is fantastic. Sure, there will be those that will say that Kings of Leon have gone soft (they were saying that when Only by the Night came out as well) and Caleb's vocals may seem a bit overproduced on a few tracks taking away from the raw, gritty sound of his voice.  However, overall this album is a beautifully inspired record and shows major growth as a band. Go Listen! Oh, and a little known tid-bit of info ....all of their album titles have been five syllables...now aren't you glad you know that?

Posted by SarahPlain&Tall