Kings of Leon pose an existential question to listeners on the first single from their new album: Are you a mustang or are you a kitty? Well, turning that around: Which Kings of Leon are we getting now? The purring arena-rockers or an edgy, untamed stallion?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Judging from the 12 tracks on \u201cCan We Please Have Fun,\u201d it’s time to pull out a saddle. There’s a raw unpredictability to the band’s ninth album, a welcome return to the Kings’ early sawdust-and-spilled-beer days. Yes, we can definitely have fun here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brothers Caleb, Jared and Nathan Followill, and cousin Matthew Followill have put out the new album 21 years after their debut, \u201cYouth & Young Manhood\u201d and it’s more like their first recordings and easily their best in years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A punky, garage feel flows through many of the tracks, with the bass and drums cranking and Caleb Followill’s voice cracking on tracks like \u201cHesitation Generation\u201d and \u201cNothing to Do.\u201d \u201cActual Daydream\u201d has a country-infused indie vibe, and first single \u201cMustang\u201d is angular and strutting, while \u201cDon’t Stop the Bleeding\u201d is a sultry arena banger and \u201cNowhere to Run\u201d makes your heart pump faster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But it’s \u201cSplit Screen\u201d that is the album’s brightest track, a slow burn built around a guitar noodle and with enigmatic lyrics that nod to a mid-life crisis and parental angst (“hyperventilation,” \u201cset it down before your break it\u201d and “big plan. Let’s cancel”). It’s hypnotic, and easily one of the band’s best, the perfect mix of minimalist mixed with coiled power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The album is produced by Kid Harpoon, who has sharpened albums by Harry Styles, Florence + The Machine and Miley Cyrus. It’s the first time Harpoon has worked with the Kings. The combo has somehow lanced the inflated, mighty Kings and brought them closer to the jagged sound they started with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lyric-wise, sex on fire has been replaced by crying babies on airplanes and hair extensions. But this is a band that even in midlife is embracing their inner mustangs, not kitties. \u201cIf I could be so bold all the time,\u201d go the lyrics to \u201cSplit Screen\u201d \u2014 perhaps a prayer for them, and for us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n