Only By The Night

Rolling Stone (p.70) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "ONLY BY THE NIGHT is long on astral, arena-ready largeness, with blippy keyboards, droney guitars and whoa-oh-oh backing vocals. Frontman Caleb Followill cranks up his Allman Brothers howl..." Rolling Stone (p.91) - Ranked #20 in Rolling Stone's 50 Best Albums Of 2008 -- "[I]t's a brighter, fuller Southern rock." Spin (p.108) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]he Kings of Leon still rule with a messy hand, applying rough magic and blurry, slurred imagery to their swashbuckling rock." Spin (p.49) - Ranked #21 in Spin's "40 Best Albums Of 2008" -- "[T]hey've gradually swapped out their Strokes-via-Skynyrd posturing for U2-leaning arena rock." Entertainment Weekly (p.95) - "Throughout NIGHT, frontman Caleb Followill wails forlornly about cheap thrills and true love while his two brothers (and a cousin) bash out spooky, raw-edged riffs that rarely go where you expect them to." -- Grade: B+ Mojo (Publisher) (p.98) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "ONLY BY THE NIGHT is packed with songs about being rootless, alienated, misunderstood....It's impressive stuff." Blender (Magazine) (p.108) - "It conjures up images of a more refined band -- the songs have overall a slower pace, and so sounds more considered, more deliberate, more reflective." Clash (Magazine) (p.72) - Ranked #1 in Clash's "The 40 Best Albums of 2008" -- "[With an] audacious palette of deep, dark and desolate sonic shades."

誰がこんな快進撃を予想しただろうか?　今年の〈グラストンベリー〉でヘッドライナーを務めたキングス・オブ・レオンが、ついにこの4枚目となるニュー・アルバムで全英1位に輝いたのである!　2000年代初頭に勃興したロックンロール・リヴァイヴァルの文脈からストロークスなどと比べられ、無駄のないタイトなサウンドで作品を出すたびにコアなファンを増やしてきた彼らだが、本作では荒々しさすら感じさせるヘヴィーなボトムで最高のグルーヴを生み出すことに成功。また、ツアーに帯同したU2に刺激されたか、格段にスケールアップしたメロディーも鮮烈極まりない。テネシーの片田舎から飛び出した4人組が、いよいよスタジアム級のモンスター・バンドへと変身する時が来た!
bounce (C)平塚 望