In my rather audacious attempt to take over the whole front page of randomtales.co.uk, and wanting to post this while it was still reasonabley relevant, here is my review of 'Come Around Sundown' by Kings of Leon.

This was always going to be a difficult album for Kings of Leon. Since jumping onto the shiny bandwagon to the tempting land of stadium rawk in 2008, with the, let’s face it, terrible ‘Only by the Night’, where do the Tennessee boys go next? Do they return to their roots, as lead single ‘Radioactive’ suggests (Just drink the water/ where you came from), re-growing their beards and hair, and forcing Caleb to live solely on a diet of razor blades and whisky to get back that growl? Or do they continue producing the meaningless, pristine, Matalan-thems, like ‘Use Somebody’ and ‘Revelry’?
Well, if the previously mentioned lead single was anything to go by, it would be a bit of both. It would be perfect if you were blind, as you wouldn’t have to watch the bizarre, ego-fest of a video that accompanies the song. For those of us with the misfortune of sight, you will have probably already seen the video, in which the four members frolic and cavort around with a large group of school age, black children. They play football, chase each other through sprinklers and do a lot of hugging. You half expect Caleb to stop singing, look directly into the camera and with a straight face, say: ‘For just two pounds a month, these kids can have their lives back. Don’t you think they could, (chuckle) ‘Use Somebody’? Ok everyone. Back to the chorus!’
However, the song itself, sans video, is everything I wanted from their return. A chorus so large and preachy that Bono himself probably finds himself singing it in the shower; the sharp, spiky guitar lines from Matthew that wouldn’t sound out of place on ‘Youth and Young Manhood’; and one of the best uses of a gospel choir since Blur’s ‘Tender’.
You can tell a lot about a Kings of Leon album by its opening tracks. ‘Red Morning Light’ shows the boys full of energy and provides a suitable introduction for the dirty, raw mess that ‘YAYM’ was. ‘Slow Night, so Long’ was brimming with subtle hooks and had them sounding like The Rolling Stones at a rodeo. ‘Knocked Up’ was a scowling slow-burner that introduced the darker sound of ‘Because of the Times’. So what can we tell about ‘The End’? Based purely upon it, it would suggest that the whole album will plod along at the agonizingly slow pace of Deborah Meadon in a sack race, be dominated by soulless guitar effects, and never really hit a peak until it’s too late. Not surprisingly, that is an incredibly accurate indication of how the album plays.
As previously mentioned, one of the albums biggest problems is that it’s just too sluggish. As ‘The Face’ and ‘The Immortals’ waddle along at a tortoise-like pace, you find yourself trying to work out if this is the same Kings of Leon that recorded the raucous ‘Four Kicks’. Jesus, even ‘Use Somebody’ sounds like they must have been on a mix of speed, Red Bull and whatever the NCIS cameraman has for breakfast everyday, compared to this painful tempo. The album just sounds half arsed and reluctantly made, as a result.
While it should be well documented that I disliked ‘Only by the Night’, at least I can recall some of the songs and even hum along to it. After listening to the new album, all memory of it disappeared into thin air, like a fart at a dinner party. Every song on ‘Come around Sundown’, sounds like it’s lacking a kick.
I can imagine it now. The band are sitting around, congratulating each other on a successful recording session. Then the producer comes in and chirps: ‘Right, all that’s missing now are the choruses. When’s everyone free to record them?’ The band all pull out their limited edition OBTN Blackberrys and mutter excuses. ‘Sorry I can’t, I’m having skinny lattes with Snow Patrol’, ‘I’d love to, but I’m putting the finishing touches to my new clothing range.’ ‘This is a disaster. I’ve already scheduled my stadium arena posing class for then.’ The producer simply couldn’t find a slot when all are free, and just decides it to give it a miss. ‘No-one will notice.’ He reassures himself. And as a result, ‘Come around Sundown’ really is a ‘meh’ record; absent of any sort of hook or memorable song.
There are a few exceptions. There are some nice dub guitar effects on ‘The Immortals’. ‘Pick-up Truck’ is the rare occasion where you’re glad the album slows down, sounding broody and powerful. However, the majority of the songs sound like the type of songs you would have skipped on the previous albums. ‘Beach Side’ is essentially glorified elevator Muzak, while ‘Birthday’ is the attempt at an anthem, but it falls flat on its face with its 50 Cent like chorus.
‘Come Around…’ has Kings of Leon having some sort of identity crisis. They’re trying to imply that it’s a ‘returning to your roots album’ (Music Cliché #447), but they’re forgetting they’re from Tennessee, not Hull. After listening to it several times, I can safely say I have no intention to revisit the majority of it again. As a result, they sound like a parody of themselves. I don’t particularly enjoy heavily criticising them, but with an album this mediocre, they’re leaving themselves open to it. Let’s hope that when they find their true identity, people are still willing to give them a chance.