Kings Of Leon Because of the Times by: Kieran O’Shea Tue:27-Mar-07 Label: RCA Year: 2007 WB rating 70 out of 100

The Kings of Leon appeared at a time during which the NME seemed to be suffering from abnormal frequency and fluidity of its bowel movements. The dreariest bands were quite literally falling out of their arse and onto the streets, onto our televisions, and clogging up the radio. The Strokes did alright for themselves, but then we had to suffer the hammer of mediocrity smashing our brains in: The Killers, The Datsuns, The Ordinary Boys, The Vines, The Thrills, etc. Any dickhead with half a brain could see that after one album the world would lose interest and turn their back. Essentially such bands were only a half decent soundtrack for me to behave like a drunken tit and dance to while slurring into people’s (females) ears, but little else.

Then Kings of Leon appeared, bringing with them a bluesy rock ‘n’ roll that sounded authentic and fresh, causing numb ears to tingle. Youth and Young Manhood was a rip-snorting cocaine ride that dived into orifices and caused the gyration of our hips. More eyes were on them the second time the party danced into town with Aha Shake Heartbreak. Although this could have been responsible for the bout of soft cock that was mentioned, the album and its makers seemed to come to terms with their success and avoided gratuitous regurgitation of past work, or the ‘difficult’ second album. Now with new album Because of the Times, they have very much matured, redefining their sound.

Much like they did with Aha Shake Heartbreak, Kings of Leon have approached the new album with originality in mind, with both instrumentation and production taking leaps and bounds. Producers Ethan Jones and Angelo Petraglia have worked to establish a larger, fuller sound across the entire album, with longer songs and a sound more akin to U2, Pixies and Interpol than The Stones sound that pervaded the first album. The atmospherics are darker, moodier, helped by splashes of reverb and delay, and used carefully to good effect – never letting it sound over the top.

Opening track ‘Knocked Up’, reaching the seven minute mark, is an inspired opener and perfectly articulates the change in production. The snare drum shuffles, bass guitar plods and a guitar wails in the distance, light with reverb.  It keeps it’s steady pace, guitars and a dancing bass added for the chorus, as each instrument makes subtle changes to their parts throughout. The new effects are used all over the album but exhibit subtlety and understanding for the raw aspects of both music and vocals that gave the band their original lure.

They have all vastly improved as musicians, experimenting much more with technique and structure also. Caleb Followill still has his recognisable drawl, but on this album it sounds far more urgent, turning to a wail as he pushes both his range and vocal chords to their limit at different moments. Temptation sits uneasily with him on ‘Charmer’ while he screams bloody murder at the beginning of every line. The drumming on ‘McFearless’ is irregular and frantic with high hat raps and snare thumps that wrestle. The bass lines pulse with more confidence, heard on the fuzzed up distorted bliss of ‘My Party’, which contains as much funk punch as anything The Rapture ever made.

But the band still maintains its country roots throughout all this well executed change. It can be heard in the guitars of the swinging freak-out ‘Black Thumbnail’ or on the rousing ‘Fans’, where the acoustic guitar opening and that heel, toe bounce of the bass are unmistakably the sound of the first album. Following straight on is the beautiful ‘The Runner’, a country hymn where Caleb sings out: ‘I talk to Jesus/He says I’m okay’ and the song gently comes to its end with a gorgeous burst of bluegrass.

There is however some needless filler. ‘True Love Way’ goes nowhere, and the same can be said of ‘Ragoo’. The two songs lack the imagination and bite the rest of the record displays. Unfortunately final song ‘Arizona’ is where the production stumbles and the listener is treated to what happens when the new production used becomes overblown. The drums have suddenly become stadium rock, there is a needless number of guitar solos, and synths moan in the background – adding further to the corniness of it all. Disappointing to end on a sour note, but in some respect it shows how well band and producers have done on the rest of the album in achieving restraint while wanting to increase the depth of the band’s sound.

Because of the Times is overall a clear success. Kings of Leon have taken a fresh approach to their material and certainly aren’t resting on their laurels. Another racing hoedown like the first album would have been lazy. They have challenged their listeners throughout their career without alienating them, tentatively at first with Aha Shake Heartbreak and confidently with this album. Nothing sits still on the album for long, allowing the new textual sound and increased length of songs room to breath, without sucking the oxygen out of the listener’s lungs.

In the world of mainstream rock, where the average band can find a formula and stick to it like glue, it’s always good to see a band attempting something new. The new album is ambitious in its diversity, but still upholds the band’s energy that was first so attractive. Kings of Leon have grown in confidence and it will be interesting to see just how big they get.