IN REVIEW: Kings of Leon - "WALLS"

After a couple of sort of difficult, kind of mediocre post-stardom records that skirted around the massive hooks that turned them from ragged fringe artists to world-conquering heroes, Kings of Leon's seventh album (aka We Are Like Love Songs, in case you were worried they'd broken their streak of five-syllable album titles) is their most consistently glossy record yet. So as to say, the soaring choruses and sharp melodies that made Only By the Night a runaway smash eight years ago are once again fair game. The cynical might see this as a contrived attempt to recapture their status, but I see it more as a band recognizing where their strengths lie and making the most of their talents. Put another way, if Come Around Sundown was an excessive and scattered response to fame and Mechanical Bull was a tentative attempt at returning to their pre-fame roots, then WALLS is the confident acknowledgement of what made them famous. That said, this record will earn little to no goodwill from those who prefer the scrappy early years KoL; however, if you were on board for their ascension to stadium rock glory, WALLS could be the long-overdue proper follow-up to Only By the Night you're looking for.

October 14, 2016 • RCA
Highlights Waste a Moment • Find Me • Walls