Album Review: Kings of Leon “Come Around Sundown” (Final Listen)

10-4-11

Come Around Sundown is a quality album, with a variety of sounds and styles. “The End” and “The Face” have an alternative rock sound to them and really bring out the creativity of the melodies the Kings of Leon have produced. A few of the songs, most notably “Radioactive” and “Mary” sound like reproductions of a sound that has already been created and widely used, however, these are the only two “weak” tracks on the album. They even provide a punk rock sound on “No Money” and a return to country roots on “Back Down South”.

Caleb Followill’s raw, raspy vocals make many of the songs tolerable, while he amazes on “Pyro” and “Pickup Truck”, and even lets his mullet down on “Back Down South”. The true testament of Come Around Sundown to the skill of the Kings of Leon must be their versatility, and their ability to make so many of the songs on the same album, drive a first time listener to wonder if he accidentally skipped around to another band.

Emotions run strong in the music, each one has a distinct feel and mood to it, and possibly a story, if you can make it through the vague and sometimes shaky lyrics.  There’s jealousy and the desire of sin on  “Pickup Truck”, which could only be described as the modern day “Jessie’s girl” that turns to a violent rage upon a rude comment about her boyfriend’s pickup truck.  There’s “Birthday” which celebrates a drunken night out with a girl of one’s liking. Caleb lets her know: “I don’t care where you’re going, I’m coming home with you”, something every man wishes he had the courage to tell a woman on a long night out. Every spurt of sin is cherished coming from the Kings of Leon, as their sinful songs seem more natural than the uplifting ones. “End all this pissing around, cut me loose of this fucking town” Caleb sings on No Money, providing the only noticeable curse on the album.

The album grew on me personally because the incorporation of so many styles off the bat was hard to comprehend and organize mentally as a single album. The sound takes some getting used to because, while it’s not necessarily a new genre, elements from different genres are combined on this do-it-all album, providing for a distinct, yet very familiar sound.

The guitar riffs are all very creative and consistent, aside from “Mary” (of course), and the drums seem very solid as well. Bass lines stand out on a few songs, especially “The End” and “Pyro”. However, the strong suit of this album is the vocals of Caleb Followill and the emotions and stories he reveals with them. A few really good songs, 2 very bad ones, and the rest are very, very tolerable.

 

Come Around Sundown gets 3/5