Kings Of Leon - Only By The Night

Anthony Caleb Followill (lead vocals, rhythm guitar),
Ivan Nathan Followill (drums, percussion, backing vocals),
Michael Jared Followill (bass guitar, backing vocals)
Cameron Matthew Followill (lead guitar, backing vocals).

Tennessee alternative rock/ indie rock family quartet, Kings of Leon, first came onto the scene in 2003, after forming in 1999. The 3 brothers & their cousin – Anthony Caleb Followill (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Ivan Nathan Followill (drums, percussion, backing vocals), Michael Jared Followill (bass guitar, backing vocals) & (cousin) Cameron Matthew Followill (lead guitar, backing vocals) released their 4th album ‘Only By The Night’, September 19th 2008.

When I first heard the album ‘Only By The Night’ there were a few songs which jumped straight out at me when I heard them, ‘Sex On Fire’ (the first single to be released from the album) was a great track to listen to and was quite a lively tune. The lyrics are perhaps a little ridiculous, but the way they come across almost makes this an irrelevance, and instead soars to an almost anthemic status.

3 months later they released their second single from the album, ‘Use Somebody’, which has been covered numerous times by several bands/artists such as Ultrabeat and Pixie Lott. The powerful vocals question the audience with teasing lyrics that almost give you the predefined answer.

‘Closer’ could have been released as a single, this could have possibly become a counterpoint to the single ‘Sex On Fire’. The general tone of the song and the instrumentals used are brilliant, especially when listened to, through a quality set of speakers/headphones.

The remaining tracks towards the end of the album can become repetitive and start to sound familiar. Despite this, overall the whole album is very good, which earned it a well deserved number 1 slot in the UK albums chart. For people who are not rock lovers but do like some songs which are not too hard then Kings of Leon might be for you.

By Russel.