Friday, October 2, 2009

Kings Of Leon/Only...By...The...Night

Kings Of Leon are an American Rock band formed in 1999. Hailing from Nashville, Tennessee, the band is formed by three brothers and one cousin. The band has struggled in the US market, gaining huge acclaim in the UK before finally hitting big in the US in 2008/09. A Grammy Award winning act, the band is currently at work on a live DVD and remix release.

Closer —-Beginning with blips and beeps and then a strong drum intro, the song is clouded in atmosphere and mood. The vocal is exquisite!!! The phrasing and the emotion is devastating!!! The song literally bleeds atmosphere and darkness. The layers of sounds just seem to build upon each other and the song ends up being a huge sounding doom oriented extravaganza. Brilliant!!!

Crawl—-Electric with a touch of sonic, this incredible song kicks off with attitude and swagger. The guitars are full of brilliant feedback and fuzz. The vocal is so exquisite…the phrashing is masterful…you feel dirty and elated at the same time. This is masterful, brilliant, incredible. One of the best songs to hit the airwaves in years.

Sex On Fire—-A huge single for the band all over the world, the sound is almost 80’s inspired from the onset. The way this vocalist delivers his lines is unforgettable. The delivery is magnificent. The chorus is so damn catchy you will have it in your head for days and days!!!. The song never quite delivers the large feeling I want from it, but none the less….this is fantastic!!!

Use Somebody—-Incredibly successful for the band, the song hit new heights in the US for the band and officially introduced them to the masses. The song features all of the great things about the band…the gentle, slowly emerging guitars, the crashing cymbals of the drums, the dry and emotive phrasing of the vocals. A masterpiece without even trying makes it all the better.

Manhattan—-The song has a gentle sound, but the song sounds to me incredibly like Pearl Jam….the whole mood of the guitar and vocal delivery fir right in the pattern. The guitars do have at times a nice Smith-ish sound that really appeals to me. The drums are masterful….never too loud but always present. This is great!

Revelry—-Giving his best Springsteenimpression from the very onset, the song is filled with that New Jersey sound. The band is masterful….even if just for their ability to hold back when they really want to rock out. The song is masterful….the construction and delivery borders on Alt-Country at it’s finest….I love this!!!!

I7—-Dirty, sexy and with a nice touch of blues….what more could you ask for. The delivery of the song is interesting as the rest of the band contributes an almost constant chorus of ohhhhh’s…and the vocal is full of intermittent blues stylings and sexy undercurrents. This is fantastic!!!

Notion—-I would not be surprised, even at this late date to see this song appear on airwaves and various video channels. This is classic Kings..it features the slight guitar fuzz, the rhythmic drums and the incredible sexy vocals. This is all you could ask for, with a nice blend of guitar distortion thrown in. Wonderful!

I Want You—-With an incredible bass line from the onset, the song again delves into that slight blues feel of some earlier tracks. The vocal is delivered with enough waa waa that the feel is accomplished with very little effort. The whole make up of the song just drips with sexiness and the sultry feel of black lit clubs with back rooms…this is freakin’ magnificent…there is little out there as good as this.

Be Somebody—-Driven by a great bass drum and the heavy sound of he bass guitar, the song again just drips with a sultry feel. The voice is very seductive…and without even trying….that kust makes it even more attractive. The song hs a nice empowered feel, but the feel of the track speaks a different world than the lyrics. So, I guess you get two for the price of one…this is not a bad thing!!!!

Cold Desert—-Wow!!! The sound of the song from the onset wants me to pull out a Cure release….then the vocal enters the fray and over rides that thought and makes you think of more jam oriented Blues Traveler. The song is a cornucopia of sound and mood. A great, magnificent way to round out an incredible release hat will remain one of my favorites for a long, long time.

****1/2 out of 5

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