Kings of Leon pose an existential question to listeners on the first single from their new album: Are You a Mustang or Are You a Kitty? Well, turning to that: which Kings of Leon are we getting now? Purring arena-rockers or a fast, untamed horse?
Judging by the 12 tracks of “Can We Please Have Fun,” it’s time to get out the saddle. There’s a raw unpredictability about the band’s ninth album, a welcome return to the Kings’ early sawdust and spilled beer days. Yes, we can definitely have fun here.
Brothers Caleb, Jared and Nathan Falwell, and cousin Matthew Falwell have released a new album 21 years after their debut, “Youth and Young Manhood,” and it’s their first recording and easily their best in years.
Tracks like “Hesitation Generation” and “Nothing To Do” have a punky, garage feel flowing through many of the tracks, with bass and drums crooning and Caleb Falwell’s vocals. “Real Daydream” has a country-infused indie vibe and is the first single. “Mustang” is angular and fast, while “Don’t Stop Bleeding” is an upbeat groove and “Nowhere to Run” gets your heart pumping.
But this “split screen” It’s the album’s brightest track, with a slow burn built around a guitar nodule and mysterious lyrics that hint at midlife crises and parental angst (“Hyperventilation,” “It’s Before You Break Up”). put down” and “big plan. cancel”). It’s hypnotic, and easily one of the band’s best, the perfect mix of minimalist with coiled power.
The album was produced by Kid Harpoon, who has produced albums by Harry Styles, Florence + The Machine and Miley Cyrus. This is the first time Harpoon has worked with Kings. The combo has somehow lanced the inflated, powerful Kings and brought them closer to the spiky sound they started with.
Lyrically, sex on fire has been replaced by airplanes and crying babies in hair. But this is a band embracing their inner mustangs, not cats, even in midlife. “If I could be so bold all the time” go to the lyrics of “Split Screen” – perhaps a prayer for them and for us.
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Mark Kennedy is on. http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits
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