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| Deluxe edition |
release date: Sep. 24, 2013
format: digital (Deluxe Edition)
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,12]
producer: Angelo Petraglia
label: RCA Records - nationality: USA
6th studio album by Kings of Leon is this time produced by Angelo Petraglia exclusively, and the album doesn't contain big surprises - in terms of style and sound. It appears as the continued process where the band seems to be contented in adding new songs to their well-known musical repertoire from time to time. Three years have passed since Come Around Sundown (Oct. 2010) and the band holds on to its popular sound.
Two singles were issued to promote the album: "Supersoaker" and "Wait for Me", both of which performed well, reaching positions such as a 9th & 10th spot on the national chart, and the album is already seen as one of the their more successful - at least in terms of sales figures. The album was generally met by positive reviews and also landed on top of the rock and alternative lists on the US Billboard charts, and the album was nominated a Grammy in the category Best Rock Album.
Accolades aside, I really don't think the album is an improvement over the band's predecessor, which I still think of as the band's best. Mechanical Bull features some of the same strong pop / rock tunes built around a spacious guitar sound and harmony choruses. What I miss most of all here are clear original songs, as several of the tracks sound a little too familiar - "Whoa, but isn't that an older song?", I often catch myself wondering during a listening, because songs simply sound too much like some of their older ones. What makes it worse, I think, is that some tracks sound like covers or at best: interpretations of U2 or Pearl Jam songs. For example, listen to "Beautiful War" while imagining Bono as lead vocalist... and then "Coming Back Again", which simply sounds like a lighter version of "The Fixer" by Pearl Jam.
Sadly, to my ears, it's not entirely unlike the story of The Killers. A band starts its career with a rather original rock sound and after good sales numbers the band turns more to the popular / mainstream side of pop / rock, which means... even better sales figures! You can hardly blame a band for being excited about gaining popularity.
Musically, I think it offers too little, and personally I only rate this above average, which means it's basically one of the band's worst albums. It's practically one of those albums that you can put on without bothering anyone. I mean, even my old mother wouldn't mind, and although I care a lot for her, I don't really see that as a positive thing.
Not recommended.
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