Review: Kings Of Leon – Mechanical Bull

BY KATIE LERNER

Over a decade ago, the four brothers that make up the Kings Of Leon, started as a simple southern rock band from Nashville, Tennessee that made their way to the top of the charts and Grammy wins. Everything was going fine until July of 2011 when the brothers had a breakup scare. Last October, however, the band got back together and began working on their sixth album, Mechanical Bull.

Overall, the band’s sixth album hasn’t had as much success as previous releases, as it mostly focuses on the alternative instrumentals rather than catchy pop lyrics. I liked the fact that the album has a nice and even ratio of slow melodies to fast and upbeat jams. Tracks such as “Super Soaker” stuck in the back of my mind throughout the day. With an alternative rock flow and speedy instrumentals, it stood out from other songs on the record. For example “Beautiful War” has peaceful and serene vibes. With soft vocals and slow instrumentals it was more like something to sing you to sleep rather than a song to play at a Friday night dance party.

A big problem with this album, however was finding meaning in the lyrics. In songs such as “Tonight” and “Family Tree”, the music overpowered the vocals, making them hard to hear as well as difficult to understand. Certain lyrics in “Family Tree” were confusing and complicated, for example “I see you sitting in your masquerade–I’d love to pour you some of my lemonade–and get it off alright, –we’re caught in an early night.” Weird.

All in all, Mechanical Bull flowed well as an album, however the individual songs are not strong and are hard to comprehend. It was a good effort, but just doesn’t cut it when compared to the band’s earlier successes.