If you aren't familiar with them, Kings of Leon is a Rock band out of Nashville, Tennessee. They have been one of my favorite bands for years and they just released their latest album WALLS on October 14th, it is their seventh studio length album. WALLS evidently stands for “We Are Like Love Songs”, in keeping with their 5 syllable album titles. WALLS features 10 new songs that range from soulful ballads to pieces that have a much stronger rock foundation.
The groups lead singer Caleb Followill has an incredibly unique voice and a drawl that helps give their band a very distinct and recognizable sound. After their last album in 2013, the group took a bit of a hiatus with each band member going their own way for some time. In an interview with Billboard in late August, the group announced that they had switched producers, from their longtime producer Angelo Petraglia to Markus Dravs, in an effort to make this album different from their previous six. In an interview done by Entertainment Weekly Caleb Followill says “We’re trying to change people’s perception…We have more depth on this album and more situations where we dipped our toe in before but never committed."
Their new producer, Markus Dravs, is no stranger to the music world. He has worked with Coldplay, Arcade Fire, Mumford & Sons, Florence + the Machine (to name a few) and now, Kings of Leon. Dravs has also worked in a large variety of genres ranging from Hip Hop and Electronica to Indie Folk and Rock. His reputation, knowledge and talent made him a good fit for the Kings. And it paid off.
This album demonstrates that the band isn’t restricted to one genre or to just “their” sound. Each song is so different from all of the others. Some, like Waste a Moment, resemble their older stuff—with a little of that southern twang that they used to be known for. But the others are completely new. Walls, the title song, is a heartfelt ballad. While Muchacho is like nothing that they’ve done before. Muchacho starts off slower with minimal instrumentals and builds as it goes. Around the World has a tangy electric guitar opening that gives the song a funky sound to it that sticks with you.
In that Entertainment Weekly interview Caleb Followill describes how they want their new album to change people; “I know this is a pop-driven world and what we do isn’t necessarily at the top of the heap of music that people are listening to, but I feel like once people discover this album, it is going to change them”. The group flirts with the edge of the line between staying true to themselves and joining the mainstream music that dominates the radio today. In the end, they created a work that is similar yet strikingly different than anything they have produced before. I thoroughly enjoyed the album and hope that we don’t have to wait another three years for their next one.
