release date: Oct. 14, 2016
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,18]
producer: Markus Dravs
label: RCA Records - nationality: USA
7th studio album by Kings of Leon following three years after Mechanical Bull (Sep. 2013) has been recorded with something as rare to this band as a new man in the producer seat. All of their previous six studio albums have been made with Angelo Petraglia exclusively or as co-producer.
Just as the band's style has evolved over the years, so has the band's soundscape, yet there have been fundamental characteristics to the band's music. One could then imagine slight changes to WALLS [written in caps as it stands for 'We Are Like Love Songs' as written in the inlay] to show the current direction / progress they find themselves in, but the album doesn't contribute with anything new, and pop / rock is still the first thing that pops to mind when faced with their version of alt. rock. Kings of Leon is (like, e.g. U2) quite a solid unit, still of the same three Followill brothers and their (Followill) cousin on guitar.
With Markus Dravs as producer, you would at least imagine that the band had some kind of desire to add new dimensions to their music or perhaps even change direction from their usual sound matrix. Some argue [downright] that WALLS should be seen as the band's change of direction with clear ties to their original style and that the compositions haven't been carved in the usual dense Kings of Leon-construct. That's just by no means what I'm hearing here. To my ears, this is the continued journey down the very same path - the same group of people dedicated in bridging the gap between American and British alt. rock and pop / rock, which you will hear tried out by bands like Snow Patrol, Keane, Travis, Foo Fighters, and the three who are musically closest to Kings of Leon: U2, Coldplay, and The Killers. From this four-leaf clover of bands with two stemming from each side of the Atlantic, I actually prefer listening to Kings of Leon. U2 has its very own weighty and significant spot in music history, which none of the others come close to.
WALLS was generally met by positive reviews, and the band secured its first and so far only number #1 on the US Billboard 200 - the position was short-lived, however, and in total sales figures the album has actually been the band's least selling album in the US where Only by the Night (2008) is the Kings of Leon album topping the sales figures - both nationally, in the UK, as well as worldwide.
"Waste a Moment" is a song, which begins as a clone of U2 and The Killers, but it's still fine. The critically acclaimed "Around the World" sounds like R.E.M. [in their later days] mixed with Talking Heads - and a bit too much of the latter. "Find Me" is again a song inspired by U2 in a mix with Keane, Snow Patrol and The Killers - but done quite convincingly, and it's the album's best track despite the obvious references. "Over" is more like The Killers and Snow Patrol on the same stage - and the result is not impressive. "Muchacho" is an almost Tindersticks or Editors-like song - not entirely bad and quite nicely done. "Conversation Piece" is... yeah, what do I know?! Beach Boys meets Carpenters, Fleetwood Mac and U2 [!]... - in any case, it's a curious scenario, but not really unique or with anything new on the horizon. "Eyes on You" is U2, Coldplay and The Killers jumping around the stage and getting everyone jumping up and down [big surprise!! Not really!]. And that's... it! Even the good songs here sound like some other band or just like something else, but after all, the album also contains musically fine compositions, although, the worst thing at this point in the band's career is the absence of originality. The music is nicely packaged - better than a Coldplay package or some of the others mentioned these days for that matter. "Stadium Arcadium" could have been an appropriate title for the album - as this collection of tracks will surely do well on big arenas and at huge festivals where people have had their share to drink - only, that title has been used.
I'm not quite sure, which of the band's most recent two albums I prefer - I do know, however, that neither of them is among the best by Kings of Leon.
Not recommended.
[ allmusic.com, NME 4 / 5, Rolling Stone, Q Magazine, đThe Guardian 3 / 5 stars ]
