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A Step Too Far

Standfirt
Is this the dawn of a new period for the Kings of Leon or is the sun coming down on their career. Strum looks at the new album, their career so far and whether this is a step too far.

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 With Kings of Leon’s new album ‘Come Around Sundown’ they’ve changed their style yet again to a more ‘rock country’ style and we’re wondering whether this could be a big mistake. With the huge success of the last album, maybe they should have stuck with what made them who they are today. Have Kings of Leon taken it a Step Too Far?
   American band Kings of Leon, including brothers Caleb, Nathan and Michael Followill and their cousin Matthew Followill, formed in Tenesse in 1999. They started off with their music influenced by an upbeat blend of Southern rock and blues. Brought up in a religous background the boys got involved in the choir and were playing instruments from an early age. However they were still able to listen to rock music, their dad often played it to them while they hit the road. The band spent most of their youth travelling round the states with the brothers father, Ivan Leon Followill,, who influenced the bands name.
   Their style of music gradually changed to a more alternative rock sound, which gained them initial success in the US. In 2008 all three of the band’s albums were in the top five of the UK Albums Chart.    
    After their 3rd album ‘Because of the times’, people began to wonder whether the Kings of Leon could actually get any better. Their 4th album ‘Only By The Night’ didn’t fail to deliver what the fans had been waiting for. Landing in 2008 ‘Only By The Night’ was undoubtedly the indie-rock anthem for summer  in the form of ‘Sex On Fire’, the explosive track grabbed everyone’s attention and kept them hooked until the very end and is still getting considerable airtime today. As Chris Jones from the BBC says “Their sound has had a good five years to grow from post-adolescent indie to full-blown, manly stadium glory”.
    In an interview on Kings of Leon.com when asked about what ‘Come Around Sundown’ means Nathan Followill says “I see it as come around sundown, we’re about to get down” but could this mean literally? Down in the charts?
   Whether you’re a fan or not, you will know that Kings of Leon have dropped their new single ‘Radioactive’ but the video isn’t quite what we expected.They seem to have dropped their rock ‘n’ roll, fags whisky and cocaine filled videos and gone with a more laid back style involving BBQ’s and fishing.
   The Radioactive video is cheesy with a gospel feel, but does that mean we have to hate it? The song takes the band’s sound in a new direction while at the same time takes the band back to their roots. Since the band have gone mainstream they had to change their style to appeal to more people, maybe this is a style we’ll learn to love.