Album Review: Kings of Leon - Only By the Night (4.5/5)

When Only By the Night was released in September, I didn't pay it much mind. Eight months later and the album is still going strong: it's currently in the top 20 in the US and the top 5 in the UK (where it's the biggest selling album of the year so far). The album's first two singles--"Sex on Fire" and "Use Somebody"--have become firmly rooted in the UK top 40 having spent now 33 and 31 weeks there respectively. Having only given the album a cursory listen on MySpace, I decided to give this album a real chance.

And I'm glad I did, for I found that, after a few listens, I like it quite a bit. This isn't ground breaking music, but it is a great set of melody-driven rock running through a series of different moods and tempos. "Closer" is a dark, haunting opener. "Crawl" that follows is a fuzzy rocker. Things really get going with the upbeat rocker "Sex on Fire," the aforementioned single that became the band's first UK #1 hit last year, and its follow-up "Use Somebody." "Use Somebody" in particular takes its cues from U2, building up a big anthemic rock sound by layering in the instruments through the choruses and following instrumental section.

"Manhattan" is a bit slower, but still goes for a big sound. The guitar is reverbed and distorted in a way that makes it sound further away from the bass, drums and vocals that are in sharper relief. "Revelry" is a lovely rock ballad; shame that it wasn't a big hit like the first two singles. "17" opens big with mix of sounds including chimes--the kind you'd expect in a rock Christmas carol--but then throttles back to a electric guitar melody that pushes through in waves. "Notion" is on a more even keel, with piano added to the guitar mix. Lyrically there's not much to this track (pretty much just repetition of "I just wanted to know if I could go home" and "don't knock it don't knock it, you've been here before"), but I like the sound.

Cowbell features prominently in the percussion to "I Want You," a slow burner that brings its instruments into focus gradually--bass in the first verse, guitar in the second, etc. I like the layered guitar work here too. "Be Somebody" is more assertive and is remarkably lacking in melody during the verses, which makes its warm choruses really stand out. "Cold Desert" goes for the big finish: at 5:35 it's the album's longest song and it really strives (quite obviously) for that rock-music-as-landscape-painting aesthetic.

It's interesting to note that while the new wave loving post-punk indie scene gets a lot of buzz, it's not getting the bulk of the sales. Hence, while the latest high-profile projects from bands like Franz Ferdinand and Kaiser Chiefs failed to really take off, its the U2-loving rockers like Kings of Leon and Coldplay (and of course, U2 themselves) that are reaping the sales. Perhaps we've had enough irony for the time being and just want to rock.

Best: Sex on Fire, Use Somebody, Revelry, Manhattan, Crawl, Be Somebody