“Come Around Sundown†(RCA): B-
Understanding the appeal of both Coldplay’s “Viva la Vida†and Journey’s “Any Way You Want It,†the Kings of Leon have split the difference between modern alternative and album-oriented rock to become America’s latest arena rock band.
Superstars across the Atlantic since 2003, just two years ago the Tennessee family quartet (three brothers plus a cousin) were still up-and-coming in the U.S. and playing the modest Orpheum Theatre. But even then, in that relatively small space, the Leons made their aspirations clear. You don’t climax your show with the big, blustery “Use Somebody†– the band’s “With or Without You,†“The One I Love†and “Yellow†smashed into one – because you’re satisfied playing theaters.
For kids who got into the band because the quartet offered a raw, Southern twist on the hip, Yankee Strokes’ sound, we feel your pain. That band is long gone. Once Kings of Leon hit upon the alt-rock pop of “Sex on Fire†and universal appeal of “Use Somebody,†the band turned its back on its early sound. Forget the minor garage rock masterpieces of the past. The future is music for the masses played for crowds of 20,000.
A month before the band’s Nov. 14, sure-to-sell-out TD Garden gig, here comes Kings of Leon’s fifth album and guaranteed blockbuster, “Come Around Sundown.†The follow-up to 2008’s platinum breakthrough, “Only By the Night,†it repeats its predecessor’s template: remaining a loud, distinctive rock band while filing down the arty edges to maximize appeal to Dave Matthews’ and the Killers’ demographics.
Jacquire King and Angelo Petraglia (formerly of ’80s Boston new wave band Face to Face) reprise their producer roles. Debut single “Radioactive†mimics the jagged guitar-into-stadium-rock eruption of the last album’s lead single, “Sex on Fire.†Nobody will be shocked when the follow-up turns out to be one of the album’s classically corny, carefully crafted power ballads in the mold of “Use Somebody†(the smart money’s on “Pyroâ€).
But beneath the Coldplay crescendos (“crescendo†being an inescapable word when describing Kings of Leon; like its British peers, the band feels the need to turn most songs into a slow build that peaks four minutes in) are some rocks-off, shake-your-hips, Southern-boogie moments.
The guitar solo in “Mary†is more Keith Richards on speed than Coldplay on valium. “Mi Amigo†has a south-of-the-Mason-Dixon-line swagger and drunken mariachi band horns. A nostalgic narrative of growing up in a small town, “Back Down South†is so rural and rootsy, a dressed-up version could be a country chart topper by Kenny Chesney.
These are the best moments. When frontman Caleb Followill remembers (or maybe when he forgets), he sings with a natural ragged twang. It’s a nice reminder of where these guys came from. But with their styled, hungover-Jonas-Brothers look (carefully arranged bedhead, loose ties, designer vests), sometimes the boys’ Tennessee bar band beginings seem like a lifetime ago. A time before Grammy Awards and Coldplay comparisons and arena rock adulation.
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