Review Summary: Are we really having that much fun?
I like Kings of Leon. They've always been a guilty(ish) pleasure of mine. I say “ish” because I genuinely think the stretch from Aha Shake Heartbreak to Come Around Sundown are pretty excellent albums. Unfortunately for the band, they've always been lumped with a myriad of alternative rock bands that don't do anything to differentiate one from another. But Kings of Leon always had something going for them, mainly a subdued grit in terms of their garage rock influence, and also a retro style that doesn't quite get old when done correctly.
The band's discography (so far) could be divided in three eras; the first three albums have a very distinct classic rock influence, mixed with a bit of punk and southern rock. With Because of the Times, their third album, the band started incorporating a more modern flair of alternative rock. This style carried on heavily with their most popular release, Only By The Night, including radio hits such as “Sex on Fire”, “Use Somebody” and “Revelry”. At this point, the band was done playing clubs and rather filled very crowded large stadiums. Much to the disappointment of some fans of their earlier material, this marked the beginning of a “second trilogy” of albums, including the atmospheric Come Around Sundown and culminating in the confused release of Mechanical Bull. The latter was advertised, partly, as a “return to roots” for the band, but ultimately it didn't differ too drastically from its predecessors.
Due to the mixed reception of Mechanical Bull, the band wanted to try something different so they ditched their longterm producer and collaborator Angelo Petraglia and recruited Grammy Award-winner Markus Dravs. This unoficially started their third trilogy of albums, but also marked an obvious sign of age for the Nashville rockers. Behind the “ooh-ooh's” and the indie rock influence, Walls saw the Followill's sounding somewhat sterile and dull. Even some of the topics of the album were depressing, like Caleb pondering what he would do if his wife and kids left him. With a follow up album put on hold for a good number of years, it wasn't until 2021 (5 years since Walls) When You See Yourself was released.
This album marked a minor step up from Walls, keeping the indie rock production values but aiming, instead, for a synthwave influenced style. Despite dropping Markus Dravs and recruiting yet another Grammy Award-winner Kid Harpoon, Can We Please Have Fun follows the exact same formula as When You See Yourself. “Mustang”, Nothing to Do” and “Hesitation Gen” obviously pay homage to the band's early rock and roll material, but even though the former two were released as singles, they are outliers in what is obviously another synthwave style rethread. “Ballerina Radio”, “Rainbow Ball” and “M Television” could be included anywhere in their previous album. “Nowhere to Run” and “Actual Daydream” are more energetic variations of that same style, and then a couple of rushed acoustic ballads (Don't Stop the Bleeding” and “Ease Me On”) thrown in for good measure.
Along with the classic rockers, the shoegaze influenced “Seen” is probably where the band shines the most as well with a very well crafted crescendo and catchy melodies throughout. With that said, there is little memorability this time. The lyrics also suffer from cryptic drivel, with very little to lean on or identify with. What keeps this album from being a trainwreck is that it is decidely a Kings Of Leon album, which means it is harmless at worst and enjoyable at best, and the second thing is the musicianship is still pretty tight. Jared can play a bass lick or two, Caleb still has a pretty unique voice and Matthew can still solo and do cool wankery here and there. The issue persists, though, that this won't necessarily satisfy fans of either their arena rock days or their garage rock era, but they are also not moving forward their newfound formula very much at all.
