What do you do after an album like Only By The Night? Head to the beach… sort of.
Some “real fans” seem to strongly dislike anyone who only discovered the Kings of Leon when Use Somebody got played on the radio all the time, so just to gain a little respect from those real fans :-p I’ll mention at this point that I can remember where I was when I first heard Molly’s Chambers back in 2003.
So anyway, they’ve set out to make an album that both explores new territory and showcases the type of band they have been since they started out…
The End sounds a lot like what they were doing on Only By The Night. It’s supposed to be a good solid start to the album, but I wouldn’t say it’s anything special, it’s a bit like they wanted to make something very similar to Manhattan, but they couldn’t really be bothered. Maybe it’ll grow on me.
Radioactive sounds like a Kings of Leon version of When The Saints Go Marching In.
“When the roll is called up yonder,
I hope you see me there.”
being equivalent to:
“When the saints go marching in,
I want to be in that number.”
A much better lead single than Sex On Fire, and apparently their gran doesn’t think they’re heading to hell quite as fast as they were (whatever that means; I would’ve thought you’re either heading one way or the other, and the speed isn’t important). This isn’t the best song on the album; I’ve got a bit bored of it already.
Pyro has an interesting background. Apparently it’s about a group of radical christians who the FBI decided they needed to destroy. I haven’t really understood all the lyrics so far, and I think they’re the key to this song, so I don’t love this one… yet. “Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah I won’t ever be your conerstone” gets stuck in my head though.
Mary is my favourite track on the album. I can’t explain exactly what makes it so great, but I think I like it more for the knowledge that he’s actually singing “Marry if you wanna…” to his brother.
The Face doesn’t have its own video explaining the story behind it or anything, which kinda suggests to me that it’s a bit of filler, but actually, it’s really good. Jared is becoming one of my favourite bassists. Not that he particularly shows off on this song, but it’s a good example of a strong bassline that’s at least as important as the lead guitar.
The Immortals, like Pyro, apparently has some very meaningful lyrics, so much so that Caleb’s girlfriend cried when she first heard them, but like Pyro, I don’t really feel it. Another great bassline, but to me that’s all that stands out on this track.
Back Down South is a nice, relaxing, country-type tune about heading back home (in case anyone reading this somehow doesn’t already know: they’re from Tennessee, but recorded this album in New York). Caleb really sings it like he means it, and Nathan harmonizes nicely.
Beach Side is simple but effective, and delivers the sort of sound you’d expect from the title. It’s pretty good for a song originally called a B-Side.
No Money, as Matt says, does have a quality drum beat, and is a good, (fairly) hard rock song (for them), like the equivalent of Crawl and Black Thumbnail from the last two albums. But as a Christian, some of the language towards the end puts me off.
Pony Up has a great “Math-rock” sort of drum beat, and is another example of why I’m increasingly loving Jared’s basslines. I’m not a huge fan of the rather piercing guitar part, but as usual, the combination of all the rest more than makes up for it.
Birthday doesn’t provide anything particularly new, but I like the way one guitar part echoes the other, and once again, the total is greater than the sum of its parts and this ends up being one of my favourites on the record.
Mi Amigo reminds me of Guns ‘n’ Roses. Just the way Caleb sings “when I’m gone”, sounds like Axl Rose to me. Otherwise the song isn’t remotely reminiscent of Guns ‘n’ Roses. Another simple but effective one, I think it’s kind of a novelty song, but I like it.
Pickup Truck‘s lyrical content reminds me of The Raconteur’s Carolina Drama. It’s the story of a bloke fighting with his ex’s new man. The band have explained how the pattern of building up and fading away used for this song is inspired by Thin Lizzy’s Renegade. I just like the line: “You call that a pickup truck?”.
I’m struggling to decide my opinion of the album as a whole. They’ve done a reasonable job of exploring some new areas while also revisiting some stuff they’ve done before, and mixing it together with, I think, varying degrees of success. I’ve previously been critical of Matt’s guitar playing. I like the lead guitarist to actually lead the band, not just provide atmospheric background, and Matt pretty much continues along the atmospheric route here, which I find a bit disappointing, but with such great cousins, he can afford to be boring some of the time. I also don’t think Caleb’s lyrics are generally as interesting here as on OBTN or BOTT, or at least for me, they don’t seem to mean as much.
However, there are parts of the album that have already grown on me in just the first week, and I’m sure my liking for different songs will fluctuate quite a bit over time, so this a rather inconclusive and probably pointless review. What I can definitely say is that it’s a worthwhile addition to my music collection.
Posted by rapsthenjives 
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