Kings of Leon - Mechanical Bull

Here is what I thought of each track of Kings of Leon's new album. All scores out of a possible 10.

"Supersoaker" - Jangly rock guitars with a kind of memorable chorus. Well, part of it. I liked the part where the lead singer whined," I don't mind...." and then I didn't understand the rest. Not horrible, but just not great. Score: 6 

"Rock City" -  This is what I got from this whining mid tempo song. He was looking for some drugs and he "takes it like a woman" I think. I am not sure - the lead singer whines so much its like he was trying out for the Bob Dylan singing school. But I will say this, the music forced my head to bob up and down so that is something.  Score: 5

"Don't Matter" - Blazing rock guitar, driving drum beats and a kick ass attitude combine to make a very memorable track. Do more of this boys - its what you are good at. Score: 9

"Beautiful War" - Once again, I have no idea what the lead singer was singing, but I felt his pain and his sincerity. He is serving emotional realness and I am eating every bit of it up with a biscuit. Beautiful -the whole song is beautiful from beginning to end. A highpoint of the album thus far. Score: 10

"Temple" -  A mid tempo rocker. What saves this song from being condemned to filler status is the chorus. I caught myself singing it after only hearing it a couple of times. I like how they warble the "you" in the second verse of the chorus. It almost reminded me of early grunge - like Gin Blossoms, or very early Pearl Jam - and I mean that as a compliment. Score: 6

"Wait for Me" - Another mid-tempo rock like song. It has some nice guitar work and some decent vocals, but it just doesn't really go anywhere. Nice background music when you are doing something monotonous. Score: 5

"Family Tree" - A super funky bass line mixed with excellent lyrics and a great chorus will make this track stand out live in concert. This is kind of what I expected KOL to be all about - family. Very nicely done boys. Score: 8

"Comeback Story" - The light and airy guitars are a pleasure to the ears, but the real star of this track are the lyrics. Clever. I am a sucker for well written lyrics and this track has them in spades. Another nice track. Score: 7

"Tonight" - An odd song. Not bad odd or good odd, I just don't really know where to put my emotions with this one. It isn't a ballad and it isn't a rocker. I enjoyed the guitar work, but the lyrics were just rather blah - the ones I could understand. And don't hate me for this, but it has a Coldplay feel - and I don't mean that as a compliment. Nor an insult. It just does. Score: 4

"Coming Back Again" - An up tempo rocker. Once again, the guitar work upstaged the vocals. This seems like a filler song. Its not horrible, just nothing memorable. Score: 4

"On the Chin" - This type of ballad is right up my alley. Excellent guitar work and once again, emotional realness vocals combine to make a stellar track. For some reason, it reads Kid Rock, but I like it anyway. And yes, I meant THAT as an insult. Score: 9

"Work on Me" - Filler song. Not much here to look at. Move along. Score: 2

"Last Mile Home" - I was going to file this one under filler, but it kind of got in on the last few verses. Nothing special, but not really filler. Score: 5

Alright kids, let me do the math - carry the 2, round up the decimal and this album gets a 6.2. 

Is this a must buy? I would say no, unless you are a KOL fan already, then yes.

Until next time,

Jim