Because Of The Times [CD]

I'm a big KoL fan and I had been waiting or this album for a long time. In my opinion, it's certainly a progression from the previous two albums - more mature with more going on musically. So much so, that there is a lot to take in on the first listen, i'd argue. I recommend listening to it again either immediately or a little later and the really album comes to life.

The overall sound is quite different to Y&YM and ASH, which were more striped down in comparison. This album, to me at least, has somewhat of an 80s vibe to it. Not the bad stuff, rather all the decent guitar bands of the era. "Charmer" for example, sounds remarkably like something off of Pixies' "Sufer Rosa" or "Doolittle" albums, it's uncanny, complete with screams, repetitive bassline, distorted guitar chords and leads. "McFearless" reminds me of early U2 material. "Black Thumbnail" opens with a more familiar KoL sound but soon rocks out hard, when they step on the gas. Incidentally, the heavy parts on this album really are a lot heavier and fuller than on previous albums and will certainly get you moving.

[...]

When I first got my ears around this album I knew it was something special. Showcasing a bundle of brilliant new tracks Because of These Times proves that the band is really coming of age. Caleb is back as good as ever with his quirky lyrics and unique squeely voice and the guitar work is fresh with plenty of southern-fried riffs and vibrant hooks that will get inside your brain and have you whistling away after a few listens.

By now you may have heard the advanced single 'On Call' and initially thought hmmm this isn't the familiar old KOL sound that I know?. Well fear not because you will find that the single is in no way representative of the album's overall flavour. Not that 'On Call' is by any means a bad track, in fact it just shows the versatility of a band that is capable of taking their sound in other pleasantly surprising directions.

The feel of the album is a fine mixture in pace with a few slower thoughtful numbers ('True Love Way', 'The Runner', 'Arizona') mixed in amongst a barrel-load of pacey rock gems that are the now familiar KoL trademark. The effect works nicely, starting out slowly the album opens with the delicate but steady 'Knocked Up' then launches in to the bass-heavy 'Charmer', it then mellows out again with 'On Call' after which decending in to the raw 'McFearless' featuring some excellent drumming technique from Nathan. Just four songs in the album is already cooking.

The track order sits really well and you never really feel like anything sticks out of place. The usual fun numbers are present throughout including one of my personal favourites 'Ragoo'. 'Fans' is a really catchy song, a lovely little feel-good track featuring acoustic accompaniment. 'Trunk' is a funky little ditty with a really nice dream-like chorus layered with a soulful vocal drift from Caleb. My stand-out track would probably have to be 'Camaro', a punchy rocker of a tune which really gets your head bopping.

There are plenty of songs here that have single potential and of course with such a fresh sounding body of work there will surely be some great live gigs to come from the boys in the future. you can just tell that these guys are really enjoying making music and not scared of being the victims of previous success. Let's face it there are not many bands these days who make it to 3 albums while improving each time but Kings of Leon seem to pull it off in style. I really can't wait to see them on tour this summer, easily the coolest band around at the moment.

The King's first two albums are great pieces of rock, melodic, witty and enduring. I wasn't quite sure what to expect with this, lets face it more of the same would've been fine.

The album starts slowly and the first track 'Knocked up' isn't really indicative of the rest of the album tempo wise, it sort of eases you into their 'new' sound, or atleast the sound of this album. Its kind of similar to Kings of old. Then comes Charmer, this track really sets the stall out for the rest of the album. The sound is generally harder and edgier than Aha Shaker Heartbrake, melodies take a slight step back in favour of a more guitar driven, in places almost metal sound.

The result is a breath of fresh air when compared to all the soundalike nu punk bands around at the moment. To those on here who say this isn't a change of style, I disagree, just listen to tracks 2 through 9 and you'll see what I mean.

The other standout for this album is (just like the other Kings' album's) all the tracks are worthy of a listen. Very few bands make albums these days where you just stick the cd in and press play.