Review Summary: The WALLS haven't completely come down on their sound, but a more rejuvenated KOL surpasses recent efforts.
A band that's been on an endless search for revival since ‘Only by the Night’, Kings of Leon come as close as possible on their latest effort, ‘WALLS’ (or "We Are Like Love Songs”), while still embracing their knack for arena rock anthems. The problem for Kings of Leon hasn’t been their loss of confidence, but more so, the confusion surrounding their identity. A band that was once well accepted primarily in the UK and rejected in the US, they didn’t expect to hit ultra fame and stardom after drunkenly writing the hit-churning machine, ‘Only by the Night’ (featuring ‘Use Somebody’ and ‘Sex on Fire’).
It was after ‘Only by the Night’ that KOL decided to self-consciously go against the grain and attempt to write mostly non-pop tracks. They even denounced 'Sex on Fire' and 'Use Somebody' as they quickly grew sick of the North American fame they had reached. But the result gave us still solid pop-rock singles such as ‘Radioactive’ and ‘Pyro’ on 2010’s ‘Come Around Sundown’. But songs like: ‘The Face’, ‘Beach Side’, ‘Pony Up’, and ‘No Money’, sounded like stagnant arena rock regurgitation.
2013’s ‘Mechanical Bull’ suffered the same issues as its predecessor, it had a few noteworthy tunes such as ‘Temple’ or ‘Supersoaker’, but it had a lot of tracks that were just uninteresting and painfully drawn out. At the time, KOL claimed to have gone back to their roots, which is a dangerous claim or phrase to use. I’m sorry, but a slowed 5-minute track containing two parts in ‘Beautiful War’, is not a return to form. The three chorded, ‘Don’t Matter’, with its buzzy guitars and polished vocals – also not a return to your roots, but you get the point here. And as you can see, the talks about just being a rock n' roll band (again) seemed contrived.
So on with ‘WALLS’. Desperate to capture the attention of a short attention spanned millennial, the ‘Kings called upon producer, Markus Dravs (Arcade Fire, Coldplay, Mumford & Sons) in search of something fresh. Hiring Dravs was probably one of the band’s smarter choices as of recently, because let’s face it, having KOL trying anything new would be considered wildly experimental when we think about the thinness and emptiness of the band’s overall sound on the previous two records.
The first single, ‘Waste a Moment’, is bright and energized. It is the ‘Supersoaker’ of this record, but it is a little more playful. Caleb Followill finally takes the polish off his vocals and starts singing all “weird” again throughout the verses, which is what made him interesting as a vocalist in the first place. But the big choruses, which remain fluid throughout this record, recapture their commercial appeal.
But what is different about ‘WALLS’ is it seems to come naturally, they’re not forcefully dialling back songs worried of what fans will think. We get sprinkles of vintage KOL like on ‘Around the World’ with its beachy staccato guitar parts, but the chorus remains repetitive and rather dull. The band that once said no to Apple, they are really driving the big one-line hooks home.
But what seemed to be unfathomable on the past couple releases, Kings of Leon go for something different on tracks like ‘Find Me’, ‘Muchacho’, and 'Eyes on You'. The open verses complete with piano swells make ‘Find Me’ a highlight on the album. The driving choruses with the guitar work of a Tom Petty track is something we haven’t heard from the band in quite some time. ‘Muchacho’ delves into odd elevator music with whistling from the wild west and serves as the most unique track on ‘WALLS’. While feeling somewhat familiar, 'Eyes on You' isn't completely new, but is filled with vintage guitar riffs and choppy tones and the cries of Caleb's story-filled verses; a song that could easily be featured as a B-side on one of their older EPs or singles.
‘Over’ and ‘Reverend’ might appear shtick, but contain some solid moments. Caleb’s screeching voice drips with emotion in the bridge of Over but the routine choruses and verses make the track generally unattractive. ‘Reverend’ explodes into a chorus guitar riff reminiscent of the Chili Peppers, uncharacteristic of KOL, but the exhaustive vocals in the choruses damper the track as it continues on. More depth could have made it much more interesting.
And “When the WALLS come down”, we are left with the final song, the title track. ‘WALLS’ is perhaps the best ballad that Kings of Leon have written in quite some time. The rawness of Caleb’s vocals over a soft yet vibrant acoustic guitar held together by light percussion and a plain piano, creates the perfect slow jam. Caleb delivers some of his better lyrics as of late, talking about his battle with alcoholism and heartbreak, leaving us with an honest track before we come full circle.
So while Kings of Leon may not be back in the garage with a return to their glory days, they have welcomed their radio-ready sounds on ‘Reverend’, ‘Over’, ‘Around the World’, and ‘Waste a Moment’. It feels like they’ve livened up the joint and let things happen more organically. But it is tunes like ‘Find Me’, ‘Muchacho’, 'Eyes on You' and ‘WALLS’ that explore different tones and melodies than in recent releases. And placed somewhat sparingly throughout the album, are bits and pieces of that old raw and vehement KOL sound, which is enough to broaden their reach and keep longtime fans engaged.
With ‘WALLS’ being placed in the #1 position on the Billboard not even two weeks after its release, they’ve worked their way back into relevance in the mainstream. Though it may be the worn routine one-line choruses moving them up the charts, ‘WALLS’ leaves enough other interesting material to reinvigorate the band as they begin to move forward from the more forgettable tracks of the previous two releases. So void of any grandiose statements or empty promises, it seems like this album is a solid pop-rock effort and isn't trying to be something it's not, a rock 'n roll album.
Recommended songs:
Waste a Moment
Find Me
Muchacho
WALLS
