Come Around Sundown by Kings of Leon

The Old 'King' is Dead. Long Live 'The Kings'.

Album Rating: *** (3/5)

Fame is a funny thing. People complained after the release of “Youth and Young Manhood” and “Aha Shake Heartbreak” that band like Kings of Leon should get their due credit. And when “Only By The Night” was a huge commercial success, these very people termed the band as sell outs. Two camps emerged, one slamming Kings for excessive commercialization and lower artistic value while the other still giving them same respect when they first emerged in NME and Spin pages.


 Kings of Leon have released their best work previously in albums 'Aha Shake Heartbreak' and 'Because Of The Times' but they got their due recognition only after 'Sex on Fire' and 'Use Somebody' started topping the charts. Long time waiting. Anyone who has followed this band knows that sound dynamics has changed a lot after the initial albums. The grunge, garage-rock raw feel has paved way for a more conventional rock riffs and drums. Caleb's freaky "woo-hoos" have been replaced by proper words though at some point even they fail to make any sense with the context of the song.

Tennessee-bred champions of whiskey, women, and whomp-whomp guitars have churned out a very laid back record in 'Come Around Sundown'. The album begins with 'The End' (talk about irony, eh?) which like previous records builds up slowly but is a disappointment in relative context. "This could be the End...", well Caleb It just might be. Following it is 'Radioactive' with a catchy guitar riff and 'back-to-the-roots' theme songwriting. Chosen as the first single, the uncharacteristic music video camouflages some credibility of the song. 'Pyro', billed as the next single is just another instance of 'Notion' (song from Only By The Night) styled guitar playing but elevates to great heights at the end.


'Mary' is filled with cryptic, disturbing guitar distortions in the beginning and an atrocious cliché guitar solo in the latter half. The next track 'The Face' could easily be skipped and 'The Immortals' is filled with slowly reverberating guitar riffs and cymbal-heavy drum lines which ultimately succumbs to 'Use Somebody' type chorus. What follows next are two country tracks (Yes, KOL with country tracks !!!)... Does it work? In "Back Down South" it works perfectly fine and the boys nailed to it to the core whereas "Beach Side" is perhaps the most soulless song from them.

"No Money" gives us a reminiscent of old Kings of Leon with high tempo and lyrics like "I got no money but I want your souls"... Aah, Those were the days. They follow it up with a disaster. Sharp drums, twangy guitar and pleading vocals add up to a musically perplexing track that sounds like pop slash rockabilly slash blues a.k.a 'Pony Up'. "Birthday" (song about bloody revenge with gathering analogous to a Birthday) has it's moment but has an instant hate-it-or-like-it guitar riff. Well so does "Mi Amigo", skip it.

The end of this record features "Pick Up Truck", a MUST-HAVE track and definitely the highlight of this album. The tempo goes through different stages just like "With or Without You" by U2. (Yes, It’s that good). So If you don't want to purchase the record it is highly recommended that you download this track from iTunes or elsewhere. 'Come Around Sundown" by no means is their best album which even Caleb knows. "Everything I cherish is slowly dying or is gone", he declares in Pyro.

Kings of Leon have gone from 'Lynrd Syndrd' to a 'U2 aspirant'. The influences are clear as they opened for U2 for their American leg. While it pays off in some tracks it fails miserably in others. The record thus proves a mix bag for these talented and ambitious musicians who are trying to expand their horizons in every possible way.

Key Tracks: Pick Up Truck, Back Down South, No Money.

Track Listing:

1. The End (4:24)
2. Radioactive (3:26)
3. Pyro (4:10)
4. Mary (3:25)
5. The Face (3:28)
6. The Immortals (3:28)
7. Back Down South (4:01)
8. Beach Side (2:50)
9. No Money (3:05)
10. Pony (3:04)
11. Birthday (3:15)
12. Mi Amigo (4:06)
13. Pick Up Truck (4:44)

(P.S. It is highly recommended for everyone who just know Kings of Leon from ‘Sex on Fire’ or ‘Use Somebody’ to check their previous work in “Aha Shake Heartbreak” and “Because of The Times”.)