Kings of LeonBecause of the TimesGrade: A-
These days, the public tends to view bands that release three albums as veterans. No longer does it take such an enormous catalogue of releases to prove that you’ve arrived.Of course, along with this mentality comes more pressure on the bands to keep themselves from going stale or growing stagnant.For a band like Kings of Leon, consisting of three brothers and their cousin who have existed as a group for roughly seven years, the time for change is now.In contrast to their two previous releases, “Youth and Young Manhood” and “Aha Shake Heartbreak,” “Because of the Times” lightens up on the southern swagger of the group that often drew comparisons to Lynyrd Skynyrd and Creedence Clearwater.The band instead opts to turn that swagger into aggression. And no track is as aggressive as “Charmer.”In as high-pitched a screech as you’re likely to hear, frontman Caleb Followill introduces the listener to a girl who was “born in West Virginia” and “stole my karma.”The screech sounds slightly unnerving at first, but this kind of risk-taking is precisely what makes Because of the Times so refreshing. The track thunders on with crackling guitars and a pounding bass line.The majority of the lyrics on the album are fairly basic for the most part, and, indeed, the Kings have never been poets – more like preachers spouting the dangers of youth, women, and the road. Of course, they’re not going to stop their old ways.On Black Thumbnail, Followill sings, “My cold, cold sailor heart says get on your way. I ain’t too proud to say, but that’s how I’m made. I’ll be that person till my dying day. I try so awful hard, but I can’t change.” Ironically, he and his band of misfits have done exactly that: changed their approach to the way they rock and roll.Thumbnail is the closest thing to an arena rock song that the band has written, and they succeed with a repetitive rhythm guitar part and a blistering guitar solo in the middle.Production on the album contains the glossiness that characterized Aha Shake Heartbreak and the rawness of Youth and Young Manhood.Each member steps up their game with drummer Nathan Followill providing intriguing and occasionally off-kilter backup to the bass playing of Jared Followill who seems to have developed even more conviction on this record than the previous ones; he definitely plays with more resolve and offers some of the best bass lines of any band these days.The most exciting thing of the new direction that the band takes on this record is that it’s hard to say where they’ll go next.They definitely covered a lot of ground on this handful of songs with an increased reliance on vocal, bass, and guitar effects and a live feel to the entire record.Additionally, the band doesn’t seem intimidated by trying out lengthier compositions; the opening track, “Knocked Up,” clocks in at 7 minutes and 10 seconds.On the other hand, the band’s just as comfortable sticking to their formula of southern-tinged, radio-friendly jams like “My Party” and “On Call.” But even these songs show steps forward.With a new record supposedly already in the works, we’ll say where the Kings find themselves in the next go-round.