Kings of Leon – Can We Please Have Fun Album

 A FEW SONGS into Kings of Leon’s new album, frontman Caleb Followill asks something uncomfortable: “Are we still having fun?” The answer: yes, but maybe in a way you wouldn’t expect. Over two decades after the Tennessee rockers released their excellent debut Youth & Young Manhood, Kings of Leons’ ninth studio LP serves as a fresh start for the band. It’s the sound of veteran musicians searching for an answer as they underpin their characteristic gritty Southern arena-size garage-rock with surprisingly sleek-and-polished grooves.

 Following the band’s introspective 2021 LP When You See Yourself, the band has enlisted the help of Grammy-winning producer Kid Harpoon, who’s perhaps best known for his recent work on Harry Styles’ Harry’s House and Maggie Rogers’ acclaimed 2022 sophomore release Surrender. 

Recorded in Nashville, Can We Please Have Fun eases into the good times with some unexpected sonic twists. Album opener “Ballerina Radio” twirls in glistening synths as Followill croons “I’m a masochist, I know,” pulsing with Britpop-ish energy and the sound of windchimes in the distance. The band dances straight into Joy Division territory on “Rainbow Ball,” with a propulsive bassline undulating behind Followill’s casual phrasing: “Get some/Tough love/Sweetheart, it’s just bad luck.”

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TRACKLIST

1. Ballerina Radio
2. Rainbow Ball
3. Nowhere To Run
4. Mustang
5. Actual Daydream
6. Split Screen
7. Don’t Stop The Bleeding
8. Nothing To Do
9. M Television
10. Hesitation Gen
11. Ease Me On
12. Seen