Kings of Leon - 'Only By The Night' (Columbia) Released 22/09/08

As we've gathered, Kings of Leon don't go down too well in their home country - until recent weeks they were largely (and criminally) ignored by many people . Why then, has the UK and a vast amount other countries warmed to the sharp, cigarette-stained tones of Caleb Followill and his "family" quartet from the very start? The Americans will dismiss the love that'll spread for this record on our foolishness towards simplicity, a big sound. But frankly, many of us dislike U2 over here and 'Only By The Night' is going to be, and is already being, dismissed as some sort of watered down version of not just a U2 record, but a bloody recent one at that.

In retrospect of 'Only By The Night', with future releases either the Tennessee brothers will embrace the brass, brave attempt at a stadium-filling sound once more or they'll go back to basics, but there's a problem in either one of those solutions. Problem being they'll probably walk straight past the fundamental weakness of this record. Sure, the songs are slow and the sound isn't particularly dance-worthy but 'Only by the Night' has a lot of steam to be running on. Thing is, the steam becomes sparse only halfway through this record, one that was meant to herald only big things.

Caleb's already triumphed the likes of 'Revelry' and 'Sex On Fire', citing them as some of the best melodies he's ever written. Call it egotistical but the guy has a point. They sound like the sort of songs that are built up, starting with a single hum on a bus journey or a late night. It's all very memorable and as mentioned before, originally, very likeable. But 'Only By The Night' loses its footing at around the moment '17' bids to kick into a higher gear yet simply cannot. Soon after it's a matter of "heard it all before" and there's all too little to be interested in. 'Notion' sounds too desperate and 'I Want You' sounds too cliché and perhaps, this wouldn't have been in case if the band had chosen to throw in another 'Crawl' to proceedings. It buzzes with the sort of rhythm section that even 'Aha Shake Heartbreak' would've been proud of. Pace is remarkably mid-tempo for something that oozes with such a carnivorous energy. Each Followill plays in their own individual, noticeable contribution; be it Nathan's heart-stopping drums or the jangly, scratchy guitar solo, so purposefully messy that it borders of becoming a waste but narrowly escapes the jaws of criticism. It's these moments that outline just how exciting Kings of Leon can be and have been, but 'Sex On Fire' aside, we see nothing more of it.

Even the sound fit for giants that they've quite clearly grasped to some extent, is championed only on a couple of occasions. Expect 'Use Somebody' to be sung by builders and perhaps, God help us, 13 year-old girls on buses but don't let that take away its credibility as a precious example of Caleb Followill's individual, exceptional vocals. A guitar part as catchy as that on the number one single reeks of royalties. Similarly enticing are 'Manhattan' and the opener 'Closer', both stay tight in rhythm and force, yet they rely upon exactly the same hook from start to finish. If Kings of Leon want to give people a good indication of what this record actually sounds like, they'll unleash some of these slower numbers. Otherwise things will smell suspiciously like Bono – 'Vertigo' was released first from the 2004 album 'How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb', it was a fiery number that completely and utterly misrepresented a soulless record.  The same trick is being played with 'Crawl' and 'Sex On Fire', the two more exciting and listenable tracks on a record that is repetitive and bland in parts.

It was hard to understand why Kings of Leon's home reputation was equivalent to the UK's opinion of Razorlight prior to the release of 'Only By The Night', but things won't remain so misty from now on. It's the weakest record in their discography so far and the first record truly vulnerable to a scathing critical attack, unfortunately deserving of it too. Expect an apology in the form of a truly awesome fifth album.