Only By The Night - Music (Kings Of Leon)

Already on course to be one of the year's biggest sellers, Only By the Night has sealed Kings of Leon's unlikely position as Britain's favourite American rock band. The Followill brothers (and cousin) have always been tagged as part of a southern rock tradition of family bands such as the Allmans and Lynyrd Skynyrd, a label they vehemently refuted. But the skinny lads certainly looked like a classic rock act, even as they took musical inspiration from indie contemporaries The Strokes and eighties new wave acts such as The Cure and New Order. Only By the Night is effectively a sequel to 2006's terrific Because of the Times, their third record and the first where they nailed their own sound, a striking amalgam of bluesy vocals and post-punk primitivism. In comparison Only By the Night consolidates rather than advances their style. The appropriately incoherent "Sex on Fire", already a chart topping single, is catchy but sounds lightweight next to songs like the fierce "Crawl" and the stadia-ready "Cold Desert" and "Manhattan". The dissonant, almost amateurish "17" is most out of place, though Caleb Followill still bawls it with the same passion he brings to even the clumsiest couplet. More notable are several sparse romantic pleas that often borrow licks from classic Southern soul. The yearning "I Want You" is little more than its title, but it certainly convinces, while "Revelry" and the vulnerable "Use Somebody" show signs of impending maturity. Only By the Night's simplicity certainly has a wide appeal. --Steve Jelbert

Customer Reviews of Only By The Night

Addicted2Ink
Scotland
1st January 2009

brilliant
ths is a beautiful album- who cares what their previous stuff is like- this is THIS album- i love it - its a beautiful collection of great guitar melodies and words. calebs voice is honey and they music is bliss to go with it.really ace.

Cokerbloke
uk
30th December 2008

Arrested Development
Once more the Kings have produced an album of sublime quality, all killer no filler. Yes its different in style from Aha and Y&YM but just a further development of the the sound we heard on Because of the Times. This change in style has nevertheless produced an album of the highest quality - again! My greatest concern going forward is what the hell do they play in their live sets - a problem which can only be answered by playing a 3 hour set surely? A tip - listen to all four albums on shuffle on your ipod it will prove to you that the only thing that has changed is nothing!!!

a commuter
London
30th December 2008

Wow
Before this album I'd heard of the Kings of Leon but never really paid them much attention. I bought this album for three reasons 1) I'd heard 'Sex on Fire', 2) a friend said it was good and 3) It was cheap on Amazon. Wow, what an album. By far the best I bought in 2008 and I bet it won't be beaten in 2009. A cert for every award going next year. Can't recomend this strongly enough, it's Dave Matthews, Pink Floyd and Coldplay all in one but with ten times more energy.

King of pain
Hereford, England
28th December 2008

This band is on FIRE!
Wow! what an album. This Im sad to say is my first purchase of the Kings of Leon. After hearing the popular Sex is on fire and use_somebody endlessley played on the radio I could'nt help but be hooked in. I've always been aware of the quality of this band but have never been drawn in enough to really get into them. I guess im 'the new fan'that the sucess of this record has opened then up to. Back catalouge here I come....

alanm
Essex, UK
28th December 2008

Stadium Rock, Not For The Purist
A real departure from their previous albums, far less of a bluegrass feel, it is over produced and sounds very much like a very commercial stadium rock band.

If you don't own a Kings of Leon album, buy the earlier ones, leave this alone.