release date: Oct. 19, 2010
format: 2 cd (Deluxe Edition)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,12]
producer: Angelo Petraglia & Jacquire King
label: RCA Records / Sony BMG - nationality: USA
Track highlights: 1. "The End" - 2. "Radioactive" - 3. "Pyro" (4 / 5) - 4. "Mary" - 5. "The Face" - 6. "The Immortals" (4 / 5) - 7. "Back Down South" (5 / 5) - 8. "Beach Side" - 9. "No Money" - 10. "Pony Up" (4 / 5) - 11. "Birthday" - 13. "Pickup Truck"
5th studio album by Kings of Leon following two years after Only by the Night is like that produced by Angelo Petraglia and Jacquire King. The Deluxe Edition comes with a bonus disc containing three extra tracks.
The album takes off on the same formula they have perfected making this the band's so far best album, in my mind. At first, I only heard the songs "The End" and "Radioactive" but soon my favourite was "Back Down South" and "Pony Up".
Sure, they don't change a lot. They make popular / chorus-based rock tunes, and they don't excel in new additions to stir up the compositional shape. The guitar is a dominating figure sent off on feedback and flanger effects making it sound like U2 had a finger on it, and yes without that Irish band Kings of Leon would probably have sounded differently, but to that 'origin' the Followills add something else, which may be identified as equal parts of American southern rock feel and originality.
What I really think makes this a better album than the fine Only by the Night (2008) is not the number of great tracks but more so the high level of the remaining songs. This album simply contains no fillers.
Highly recommended.
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