Kings of Leon - Mechanical Bull

After it gave birth to one of the most well-documented band meltdowns since, well, the Beatles, the timing of Come Around Sundown was a little unfortunate. I shall use this defence against its scathing reviews: I quite enjoyed it. After the colossally try-hard efforts of Only By the Night and Because of the Times, seemingly designed to just front a couple of future singles (I think we're safe to go outside without hearing those opening OHWHOAAAAAHs of Use Somebody now), CAS came and sounded like an album by a band who just wanted to make music rather than hits. And it sounded lovely.

The problem is, when bands start to sound "lovely" they are very quickly written off by people who care about music and are allowed to propagate and cultivate this loveliness to death, because it's all they come to know. See: Mylo Xyloto. Kings of Leon are no longer a band for musos; they'll still grab #1 albums because they're one of the biggest bands in the world for people too lazy to find anything else, but it would really be nice if this machine (see what I did there?) had some quality along the way.

Mechanical Bull is really screaming out for the word 'shit' to be added onto the end of the title. The album is chock-a-block full of the least inspired songwriting I've heard in a long, long time. That's not to say the end results are unpleasant: opener and single 'Supersoaker' has a natural twang about it that's relatively pleasant, and the drumming from Nathan Followill is lively, but the song goes absolutely nowhere. Their aesthetic is largely unchanged from CAS, although 2010's lustre and sunkissed sheen has faded away and left a band earnestly trying to revive their breakthrough sound. 'Rock City' shows Caleb in uncompromising vocal delivery, more shouty than anything - seeking out drugs and an easy lay - as a decent series of riffs build towards an understated and vaguely likeable track. From there, they begin to tread familiar territory and even encroach on other bands': 'Don't Matter', for example, is essentially Queens of the Stone Age at their least interesting moments, then 'Beautiful War' does a convincing (and flattering) U2 impression whilst closer 'On the Chin' borrows a lot from Tribes' love of all things distorted and blurry.

Between these two pastiches, sadly, not a lot else happens. 'Temple' is a little more lo-fi than we'd have come to expect of modern day Kings of Leon, but that initial surprise in the verses only leads up to the flattest and disappointing chorus. Similarly, the intro to 'Wait for Me' belies a reinvigorating side to the band, with its new wave romanticism, but it's soon melted into another dreary, repetitive sentiment. In fact, the only moment where there may be an element of fun in the Followill's camp is a brief laugh at the start of 'Family Tree', probably a reaction to the tension that's plagued the four since 2009.

Having a song titled 'Comeback Story' is a canny trick, and the song is a doe-eyed ball of cliches ("I walked a mile in your shoes", "picking up the pieces", "everything is alright") that I suppose could pass for persuasion that disharmony in the ranks is now but a distant memory, but it just doesn't sound very happy. It's not like Caleb is incapable of passion and joy (just listen again to The Bucket or Red Morning Light - no really, you're better off that way), but here there is none. With 'Coming Back Again' that is slightly rectified - the track is a brisk, choppy and winsome effort - but it's a rarity and left much too late.

Listening to Mechanical Bull (I legitimately typed Mehcanical then and I was hesitant to correct myself) is just not remotely fun. Or thought-provoking. Or cleansing. Or thrilling. Or even distracting. It is just background noise with a passing semblance for what the band used to be.

Rating: 3.5/10
Highlights: Coming Back Again; Rock City; Supersoaker (but that being a highlight is not a good thing)
Avoid: Don't Matter; Tonight; On the Chin; Comeback Story; Wait for Me

Artwork Watch: *MASSIVE SHRUG*
Up next: Holy Ghost!