Because of the Times
RCA
I’ll be honest: I would’ve bet against the Kings of Leon. A familial quartet
metabolically pushed by a major label to be something, they were forced to
perform with little experience. But there was something to their brand of
southern rock, something raw and unabashedly masculine that was charming
in its potential. With the sophomore album Aha, Shake Heartbreak, the
Kings hushed critics and delivered a real album that felt wholly their own, letting
things like Caleb Followill’s voice and Matthew Followill’s guitar squeal
and breath just so. And while their latest Because of the Times doesn’t have
the instant accessibility of Heartbreak, it’s a more mature rock ‘n’ roll album
that proves they’re no flash-in-the-pain (nor are producer Ethan Johns’ continued
efforts). Often it’s about packing punches: the elegiac stomper
“Charmer,” the blitzkrieg drumming of “McFearless” or sexy swagger of “My
Party.” There are also tempered numbers that illustrate the oft-missed point
that it can also be about notes you don’t play: the meandering “Arizona,” the
listless and angst-ridden “True Love Way” and plaintive ballad “The Runner.”
But when they strike a balance on meticulously ragged-but-perfect rockers
like “Ragoo,” “On Call” or the seven-minute opener “Knocked Up,” the Kings
of Leon prove they may be fit for a crown after all. Josh Baron
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