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In the UK lions, in the USA... well, you get it, right?
Strange fate, that of the Followill gang. Exactly what happens to characters like Robbie Williams, just to name one; but here we are in the rock domain, and it's a different story. The music of Kings Of Leon has been so far a delightful blend traveling from garage to southern rock, along the wide highway of melodic pop rock.
However, it happens that the guys go big for this new "Only By The Night," including entrusting the video for the new single "Sex On Fire" (already a big hit, of course) to a director usually linked to pop (?) music like Sophie Muller. Beware of prejudices, they usually say; well, then at least let's dissect.
Let's get right to it: this "Only By The Night" sounds great, few mental masturbations. "Closer" is an overture that quickly sets the right atmosphere, with Caleb immediately making it clear that he has reached full vocal maturity, and the guitars buzzing delightfully. The issue is that the strength of a masterful album like the previous "Because Of The Times" was precisely the "dirt" of certain sounds and the lesser quest for perfection in the arrangements and structure of the tracks. In short, the immediacy is missing. Take the following "Crawl" for instance: here the sound is much rougher and harsher, but the formal melodic pursuit is a bit too insistent. "Use Somebody" can even be labeled as "radio-friendly," listening to it, you might believe you’re hearing Snow Patrol instead of the American band; I repeat, it's not (always) a bad thing, but from the Followills, you always expect something more.
In short, soft atmospheres abound, and the gritty edge of tracks like "McFearless" is replaced by "finesse" such as "Revelry," "Manhattan" (sustained by an interesting groove shaped by the electric bass), "Seventeen" (tons of falsetto), and similar ones. All very nice, but where has the grit gone?
The guys continue to manage, this is undeniable. But next time it will be better to "get their hands a little dirtier," because the risk of flattening out is just around the corner.
The new U2 will be better sought elsewhere.
Key tracks: "Crawl", "Use Somebody", "Be Somebody", "Cold Desert"
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 Crawl (04:08)
You fault my pride
Donâ??t ever need to 'pologize
As your lips unfold
Shaken purple from the cold
You better learn to crawl
You better learn to crawl
Before I walk away
Before I walk away
You broke my mouth
The bloody bits are spitting out
Is your grave unscathed
The worm is counting down the days
He wants to see you crawl
He wants to see you crawl
Before I walk away
Before I walk away
The reds and the whites and abused
The crucified USA
As their depocrisy unfolds
Oh hell is truly on its way
As the rat, and the fly
Theyâ??re searching for an alibi
As we await the wrath
They never went to Sunday Mass
They want to see us crawl
They want to see us crawl
Before they walk away
Before they walk away
The reds and the whites and abused
The crucified USA
As their depocrisy unfolds
Oh hell is truly on its way
03 Sex on Fire (03:26)
Lay Where You're Laying
Don't Make A Sound
I Know They're Watching
They're Watching
All The Commotion
The Kiddie Like Play
Has People Talking
Talking
You
Your Sex Is On Fire
Dark Of The Alley
The Breaking Of Day
Head While I'm Driving
I'm Driving
Soft Lips Are Open
Them Nuckles Is Pale
Feels Like You're Dying
You're Dying
You
Your Sex Is On Fire
Comsumed
With What's To Transpire
Hot As A Fever
Rattling Bones
I Could Just Taste It
Taste It
But It's Not Forever
But It's Just Tonight
Oh We're Still The Greatest
The Greatest
The Greatest
You
Your Sex Is On Fire
You
Your Sex Is On Fire
Comsumed
With What's To Transpire
And You
Your Sex Is On Fire
Comsumed
With What's To Transpire.
04 Use Somebody (03:53)
I've been roaming around
Always looking down at all I see
Painted faces, fill the places I can't reach
You know that I could use somebody
You know that I could use somebody
Someone like you, And all you
know, And how you speak
Countless lovers under cover of the street
You know that I could use somebody
You know that I could use somebody
Someone like you
Off in the night, while you live
it up, I'm off to sleep
Waging wars to shape the poet and the beat
I hope it's gonna make you notice
I hope it's gonna make you notice
Someone like me
Someone like me
Someone like me, somebody
Someone like you, somebody
Someone like you, somebody
Someone like you, somebody
I've been roaming around,
Always looking down at all I see
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