Only by the Night by Kings of Leon
RCA Records, New York: 2008
ISBN: 8697-32712-2

CD Summary:
Only by the Night is the Kings of Leon's fourth album. The music is strictly rock n' roll with a Southern twang. There are also some haunting ballads, such as "Closer" and "Revelry." The first single off the album "Sex on Fire" is fast and fun, and the sultry follow-up, "Use Somebody" is getting even more air-play. There are only 11 songs on the album, but none are throw-away fillers like longer albums usually include. Each rock anthem could be a single itself.

Critical Evaluation:
This is probably the most polished Kings of Leon album. It is obvious a lot of attention was paid to creating catchy melodies, and because of this (not necessarily for the lyrics) all of the songs are memorable. The lead singer, Caleb Followill, has a sexy, gritty, yearning voice with a Southern twang that I could listen to sing the dictionary and be entertained. The songs are lush and complex, but not difficult to appreciate. Overall it is just a fun rock album with a few great down-tempo songs as well.

Reader’s Annotation:
Experience some Southern rock that sounds like nothing else on the radio today. The Kings of Leon will leaving you wanting more.

Information about the Author:
The Kings of Leon are made up of three brothers and one cousin from Tennessee. The brothers spent their youth traveling across America with their evangelist father. In 1997, they relocated to Nashville and got into the rock scene and formed a band with their cousin.

Genre: rock music

Curriculum Ties: none

CD-talking Ideas:
I would play a couple of the exemplary songs from this album, such as "Sex on Fire" and "Crawl."

Interest Age:
I think teens as young as 15 would appreciate this album.

Challenge Issues:
Although the lyrics reference sex, nothing is very graphic, and the context is usually very ambiguous. Nevertheless, I'm sure it would be challenged for this. So I would explain the library's selection policy and give the challenger a complaint form to fill out.

Why I chose this CD:
This album has been topping the charts since it came out late last year and I really have enjoyed it. It's a great alternative for teens who are turned off by pop music.