Kings of Leon 'Mechanical Bull' Album Review: 'Come Around Sundown' Follow-Up Accomplishes Blend of Old, New Sounds [FULL ALBUM STREAM]

The career path for Kings of Leon has been a thing of dreams for scrappy young Southern boys who hope to make it big. Starting more than 10 years ago as a quartet of preacher's sons (and a cousin) from Oklahoma and the Deep South, the Kings released their first record in 2003. "Youth and Young Manhood" is a raucous, rowdy album and perfectly blended Southern rock with garage and punk.

After the release of critically-acclaimed and fan-favorite albums "Aha Shake Heartbreak" and "Because of the Times," it seemed like only a little bit of time remained until Kings of Leon became the massive, arena rock act they were born to be.

This happened in 2008 with "Only By The Night." Smash singles "Use Somebody" and "Sex On Fire," while markedly different from much of Kings of Leon's discography, made the quartet bona fide pop stars instead of beloved alternative rock gods.

So, where do you go next when you're the one of the biggest modern rock bands in the world?

For Kings of Leon, you go to "Come Around Sundown" (2010). Blending together their arena sound with their Southern roots. It worked in a way, but created an album that received mixed reviews and is largely forgettable today.

Following "Come Around Sundown," there was some turmoil within Kings of Leon. Inherently a family band, there were issues with drinking too much, feeling disconnected from each other and working too hard. So, they took a break, wrote a few new songs and, eventually, recorded a new album in a renovated paint factory in Nashville. 

The result is "Mechanical Bull," which accomplishes what "Come Around Sundown" failed to do: pack an emotional punch. Caleb Followill returns to his raspy vocal roots, and the poppy, jangling guitars of the band's "Aha Shake Heartbreak" days are back, but the crawling basslines from the latter half of its discography live on. "Mechanical Bull" is a true coming-together of the Kings of Leon's sound, mixing together Southern rock, arena music and dirty garage rock.

Album opener and lead single "Supersoaker" demonstrates this best. It opens up a battle, with quickly played, distant-sounding guitars from Matthew and Caleb. It's boppy, it packs a punch and it recalls their first breakthrough single, "The Bucket." Meanwhile, Caleb's voice soars like his sex is on fire.

From there on, "Mechanical Bull" blends together the band's maturity with their young manhood. Track No. 3, "Don't Matter," is a harder rock song than much of what's in the Kings' discography, and would have fit wonderfully on "Because of the Times."

"Wait For Me," the album's second single, is a standout ballad on par with some of Kings of Leon's more touching, personal songs. If "Don't Matter" is the "Because of the Times" track and "Supersoaker" comes from the "Aha Shake Heartbreak" era, this is the "Only By The Night" track. It's the love song answer to the crushing "Cold Desert."

Kings of Leon also aren't scared to get rootsy. "Family Tree" is a funky, country-inspired song about two people coming together and becoming a part of one family. It's a stomper, that's for sure, and it succeeds to do in one song what "Come Around Sundown" failed to do as a whole.

That's not to say everything on "Mechanical Bull" is a best-of for Kings of Leon. Like each of their last two albums, this record has its fair share of forgettable songs. It's hard to remember throwaway songs like "Temple" or "Coming Back Again" when there are some real special moments on this record.

The Kings of Leon have reignited the spark that made them a successful rock act in the first place during "Mechanical Bull." They've also continued to work on bringing together the old and the new and have done so more successfully than in the past.

Listen to "Mechanical Bull" below.