![]() It’s out with the slush and in with the funk for ‘Family Tree’. “It’s all better now,” he croons over and over on the fade-out in a soul salving fashion. Calling his sweetheart ‘darlin’ over melancholy riffage and down-home, apple-pie harmonies, Caleb leads his Kings slowly but surely, building up to a simple but satisfying breakdown at 2.10. ‘Wait For Me’ sees the band getting into those spacious, reverberating sonics that they always seem to revert too when singing about serious matters of the heart. Tissues, family-sized box of chocolates and shitty rom-com DVDs at the ready, because it’s slowie time again. “The dancefloor’s a temptress,” says Caleb by way of an opening. Stupidly catchy and insanely fun – this is Kings Of Leon at their best. Fans of ‘Youth And Young Manhood’ and ‘Aha Shake Heartbreak’ will find a lot to love here, from the downright perkiness of the tune – all giddy teenage glee and unapologetic party vibes – to the indie disco invite that is the song’s pounding backbeat. ‘Temple’ is four minutes of prime Kings Of Leon. The album’s cornerstone is also the record’s most exciting track. It’s not necessary to picture the band playing it whilst perched on the rim of the Grand Canyon, wiping away big soppy man tears, but it kind of makes sense. Warbling echo effects on the guitars amp up those feelings of longing. The album’s first determined step into ballad territory, ‘Beautiful War’ is a lovers tiff and kiss and make-up stretched out into five minutes of Southern desperation and plaintive twanging. For reasons that should be obvious, “I can fuck or I can fight/It don’t matter to me,”is the lyric that stands out the most. “I was looking for a bad girl/looking for a bad boy,” he says with a certain amount of hustle, before intriguingly adding – “I could shake it like a woman.” Now that is something we have to see.ĭefinitely the meanest sounding song on ‘Mechanical Bull’, ‘Don’t Matter’ cements its punk credentials by pulling in 10 seconds shy of the three minute mark, opening with an almighty scream and then piling into a beefy, no-nonsense guitar riff. ‘Rock City’ begins with a wailing guitar line, before Caleb gives a whoop or two before kicking out the Creedence-y jams, and letting us know he’s on the hunt for a down and dirty partner. It’s got way more in common with their carefree early work than the last few albums, which depending on your preference could be awesome or awful. It’s all chugging guitars and breezy melody, with Caleb Followill longingly proclaiming: “I don’t mind sentimental girls at times”. They debuted it live during their comeback show at the Governors Ball festival in New York back in June and released it a month later. So you’ve doubtless already heard this one, what with it being the first single from ‘Mechanical Bull’. ![]() Was it worth the wait? Here’s our first listen to the ‘Mechanical Bull’ (out September 24), track by track. At two years and 11 months, Kings Of Leon’s sixth album marks the longest time the Followill family have ever taken between releasing albums. ![]()
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