{"id":41173,"date":"2008-10-21T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2008-10-21T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/only-by-the-night-2\/"},"modified":"2008-10-21T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2008-10-21T00:00:00","slug":"only-by-the-night-2","status":"publish","type":"review","link":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/only-by-the-night-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Only By The Night"},"content":{"rendered":"

In general, I\u2019d consider myself the Pollyanna of music listeners; anything is, to a degree, likeable, and I strive to find the silver lining even in the worst purchases. Maybe I\u2019m a natural optimist or it could be that I just don\u2019t like to admit when I get it wrong. With Kings Of Leon\u2019s latest record Only By The Night,<\/i> I\u2019m searching so hard for that silver lining that I\u2019d probably settle for a twinge of copper.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Even as a huge fan of this band, I\u2019m struggling to defend this one because it is so out of character and disappointing. To put it bluntly, it\u2019s the musical equivalent of seeing Marilyn Monroe or Jackie O in tracksuit bottoms.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Kings Of Leon\u2019s debut album garnered them much acclaim for their country-infused classic rock sound led by lead singer Caleb Followill\u2019s raw, lupine vocals. Their third album Because Of The Times <\/i>marked a slight departure from this style, venturing into a more mainstream rock \u2018n\u2019 roll sound. Only By The Night <\/i>picks up where the band left off, delving into an uncomfortable form of stadium rock.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The album\u2019s first single \u201cSex On Fire,\u201d while arrestingly catchy, plays as if the chief aim of the song was to get a number one single. It opens with the obligated bass-line to give the drunks enough time to get on the dance floor, it\u2019s jabbed full of innuendoes and finishes with a screamer of a chorus. As sickeningly formatted as it seems, it works and is arguably one of the better songs on this disc. <\/o:p><\/p>\n

The main problem that Only By The Night<\/i> encounters is that a lot of the tracks are built-up but don\u2019t deliver. One example is \u201cBe Somebody,\u201d a song with a great intro and verse but a chorus that fails to impress. A lot of the tracks fall into this trap, and the record as a whole just seems empty and a bit tedious. It\u2019s almost as if you spend the album\u2019s lifespan waiting for something to happen..<\/p>\n

If not for band\u2019s signature vocals, this album would be unrecognizable as Kings Of Leon. In fairness, if it wasn\u2019t for the past success of their albums, Only By The Night<\/i> wouldn\u2019t\u2019t be judged by such a harsh standard. Given a couple of plays their latest effort has the potential to be a mediocre album, but nothing memorable. Copper twinges on offer to appease include \u201cI Want You,\u201d the opening track \u201cCloser,\u201d and \u201c17.\u201d <\/o:p><\/p>\n

Only By The Night<\/i>\u2019<\/i>s downfall is that it seems to leave behind the virtues of past Kings Of Leon records rather than develop them. Their newest album is barer than any of its predecessors, forsaking most of the grit, riffs and solos that were the crux of the band\u2019s earlier style. Musicians are entitled to a departure from their signature sound, but I\u2019m hoping this is a round trip.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":72,"featured_media":29566,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[8286],"rating":[11205],"class_list":["post-41173","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-kings-of-leon","rating-rating-d-plus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/41173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/72"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41173"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/41173\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29566"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=41173"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=41173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}