I’ve always been a big Kings of Leon fan, though I can’t
claim I liked them before they were cool – I remember a friend telling me to go
listen to Youth & Young Manhood (2003) and Aha
Shake Heartbreak (2004 in the UK, 2005 in the US) shortly after I told him
how much I liked On Call (2007)! A lot has been said about how far the band has or hasn’t
fallen since then, I’m going to steer clear of all that.
When I was listening to Milk, the 5th song on Aha Shake, a couple of days ago, I realised that it sits somewhere between KoL’s very early songs and their later, more ‘arena rock’ sound.
When I was listening to Milk, the 5th song on Aha Shake, a couple of days ago, I realised that it sits somewhere between KoL’s very early songs and their later, more ‘arena rock’ sound.
The synth intro, the groovy guitar driven break, the vocals front and centre in the mix are all far removed from
Four Kicks. Add to that, the ambiguous lyrics about
‘hourglass bodies’ and ‘spotlights’ and you could easily have a song from Only By the Night (the one with Sex on Fire, 2008). At the same time,
the driving bass line during the verses drives like the shuffle on Holy Roller Novacaine, and the vocals
are just that bit more ragged, and the lyrics darker, giving the song more of a
KoL circa 2003 than 2008 vibe. At the end of the day, music will always defy
categorisation – every song and performance will always be unique – but it is
always strange the little connections that sometimes pop up.
I remember blasting Come Around Sundown with you back in the day
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