Only By the Night

The songs have been crafted to be more radio-friendly for our benefit apparently,because the sad news is that Only by the Night is lacking the intimacy and depth of the last Kings of Leon album,Because of the Times.

Now in place are tunes like 'Use Somebody',a song that would alienate some of the band's longtime fans.It takes off with a mishy guitar riff that is paired with uncharacteristic mechanical noises,and plays out like the perfect by-numbers pop ballad that even includes an Aerosmith-like guitar climax and background vocals that go "Aaah".

The difference is obvious.In the last album,the guitars played out slow/steady and the overall effect was haunting and powerful,whereas here the mood is carefree and the pace more immediate,lyrics romantic and simple ("given the chance,I'm gonna be somebody","I want you,exactly like I used to").This is an effort to sound more catchy,write lyrics people could actually sing to and promote a younger/trendier/more consumable image for themselves.

I like 'Sex on Fire' and 'Revelry',and on the first track 'Closer' the band hints at a higher potential-but the song is instantly failed by a frustration of beeping sounds,and guitars that feel untied from the rest of the song.'Crawl' could be the band's worst track to date.

With the exception of Caleb's familiar voice,the songs feel trivialized by a crippling sense of unoriginality-often replicative of Snow Patrol,Muse or My Morning Jacket.Its not a bad record,but devoid of anything outstanding or truly worth the time.As a whole:it speaks greatly of a loss of personality and the (misguided) undertaking of a whole new direction,but it kindly serves to accentuate the quality of their last credible record.

6.5/10

...