Review: Kings of Leon’s Can We Please Have Fun
Kings of Leon
Can We Please Have Fun
Capitol Records
Who are they asking? The title appears to be directed at us, the Fans. The homegrown, who for the past twenty years have rocked to the rhythm and bopped to the beat of the radio. We never quite got the slang, but after diminishing returns from WALLS and then When You See Yourself, do we still have the fares to play the role?
Like any good rock band with a deepening back catalogue, new product from Kings of Leon is as highly anticipated as it is harshly scrutinised by their faithful followers, our keen glances narrowing in indignation at any sign of corners cut, of authenticity faked. We want to enjoy the musical evolution of the Followills, yet hold them to our own ideals of what that sounds like. The brothers (and cousin), for their part, dutifully managed to serve both masters to the standard we demanded. They remained true to the sounds and moods that made them so irresistible in the early noughties but still displayed a healthy level of evolution and imagination that infused every album from Youth and Young Manhood to Mechanical Bull.
WALLS was no disaster, but it didn’t pack the punch that any of the previous six albums had, despite still having some decent songs on it like Muchacho, Wild and Eyes on You. It came and left without leaving the mark that the hype preceding its release suggested. When You See Yourself earned a mixed reception from critics and, for the first time, audible backlash from the Followill faithful. We did not care for this synth-drenched, self-important, redundant exploration of mediocrity. Not one bit.
And so, the title of their ninth studio release, Can We Please Have Fun, is a plea from a band coming off their first ever real failure. Stung by pointedly critical reviews and the fresh, bitter taste of fan backlash, Kings of Leon’s album title is as much a question as it is a statement. No more “continuing the evolution,” no more callbacks to hollowed-out themes, no more “signs of musical maturity,” for these are the themes that turn the fans off, and maybe the band itself. For this album, it’s not as much of a matter of Can We Please Have Fun as We Will Be Having Fun, Like It or Not.
In terms of finding that balance between placating and challenging the fans, Can We Please Have Fun is a welcome course-corrector. The main feature of the Kings’ catalogue is their flexibility to deftly pivot from driving swamp rock to eerie ballad, from Springsteen-esque stadium rock to spiritual, meditational dirge. CWPHF showcases the sum total of a career exploring these themes, a celebration of sounds more than a timid offering of experiment. There are new tempos and moods to explore, and they don’t seem to be shoehorned in to meet an expectation of progression.
There are callbacks too; Mustang is a verifiable sequel to Because of the Times’ ‘Camaro’. Jared’s iconic slide-n-pop welcomes us to the stronger Actual Daydream, banger M Television recalls the Springsteen Heights that Mechanical Bull explored. Plenty of calculated risk is taken otherwise to ensure that this is by no means a safe album for the Kings.
Under the watchful eye of master producer Kid Harpoon, who most recently worked on a little album called Flowers by Miley Cyrus, the album positively explodes with dynamism. The Kid’s contemporary eye seemingly provides timely musical context and direction to a band whose mojo is, if not fully home, starting to attend family gatherings again.
CAIN CIALLELLA