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From: theneedledrop
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  • the immortals, pony up, the end and the face all AWESOME!

  • loved it just needed a little more out of it like maybe more tracks. not deep enough with the guitars, misses a song like revelry and manhattan from their previous LP

  • I agree with the lack of balls KoL had on this thing, but on a chilling album that you described very well as being something to play on the beach, do you really want that extra eccentricity to suck you into the album and away from just enjoying the sound of the album? Pony Up, Radioactive and The End are favourites for me :)

  • Pickup truck is THE best KoL song they have EVER done in my opinion. Such a simple song but yet so good.

  • GTO Hovercraft is a good band....or at least they would be if they were real.

  • I don't really like the album the whole way through, I think it's good to listen to sometimes in small doses and has some good songs like Pyro, the Face etc, but when i try listening to it the whole way through it's not long before I feel bored and want to switch it off and as the time goes on the more I dislike it.

  • I love their earlier work but this is great. I just wish there was more variety. Other than that I'm definatly returning to this! As of now decent 7

  • I'm a huge KoL fan, and I have to say Come Around Sundown isn't like their other albums, it has a more smoothing and relaxing tone, but i like personally, not my favorite but i like it for songs such as pyro, pony up, the end etc. When I saw them after the release of Come Around Sundown their setlist was amazing. The opened up with The End so you can only imagine how amazing that was

  • I am a massive KoL fan, but this album was bloody disappointing. It's not awful, but it's not great either...

  • This is one of my fav albums, and I heard over 100 albums.. I'm sorry, but you should be ashamed

  • I'm gonna have to disagree with you. While you gave a very smart review, I think the songwriting was excellent & if you listen to the song Mary it brings back the southern rock & little bit of beach boys mixed in. The Face & Pyro are my favorites. This album is just what KOL needed to appeal to a larger audience & while some may think that they're sellouts, I don't think thats true at all. Its just what happens when you go mainstream but they've done it very tastefully while keeping originality

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  • well judging by the way you dress you shouldn't even bother listening to kings of leon... NOONE LISTEN TO THIS WEIRD GUY, this album is extremely powerful and soulful. they sound NOTHING like U2 or Bruce (I'm from jersey) theyre the most put together sounding band i've heard in a LONG time and they stay true to where they are from while progressing their sound slightly. so go buy some lame indie albums and rave how amazing they are cuz they're so different and "rootsy"

  • @delta9325 why judge people by the way they dress, also people have their own opinions and i agreed with the ones in this review, also what "lame" and "rootsy"(?) indie albums are these you speak of

  • "The Face" could be one of the best KoL songs I've ever heard. It's short, and simple, but so powerful.

  • @dgnally1 my favorite on the album and you said it perfectly. one of the best KOL songs ever. Hell, one of my favorite songs ever. That may be a crazy thing to say but in my opinion it stands out so much in this album and their careers to me. Very raw, bold, and powerful.

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  • why didn't you ever review their older stuff, like Because of the Times? that was a really great rock record!

  • disraeli gears is your censor? lol

  • My opinion on Come Around Sundown is pretty favorable. One thing that people need to understand is if bands keep the same sound they're going to get criticized, AND if they change they are going to get criticized. I like this album a lot because it has a relaxed sound to it. Seems like KOL have matured as musicians and songwriters. Pyro and The Immortals are easily my favorite two. Kings of Leon aren't trying to be someone different they're just expanding their sound and honestly, I love it!

  • Kings of Leon is such a boring band!

  • I'm enjoying this album much more than anything like Sex On Fire. Because that stuff is so pompous and too much Americana for my liking.

  • Please review The Hole Punch Generation album. I'd like your hear your thoughts on it. :)

  • fav kol album??hands down youth and young manhood no questions

  • dude if your were ever a real fan u wouldnt just cast a band out because u dont agree with what they did for the theme of an album. Kol only getting better u unloyal ass critics who swear your opinion is just.

  • @4door88 He never claimed to be a huge fan of KoL. He said he was a fan of their early work and feels that they're toning themselves down and losing the essence of what made them so great and stand out from other bands at the time, which is completely true. It's good for bands to progress but it feels like they're going in the wrong direction with it. Also, he did say that it's just his opinion so... Shut up.

  • Kings of Leon deserve only negative ratings.

  • @natojacobs5 wow i don't expect that from a u2 fan.

  • Yess i totally agree with you!! in my opinion i think aha shake heart was there best album!

  • I am glad you review albums that don't fit certain genres that are your favorites, but I have to agree with you that this album reflects what I see as the stale sounds of modern radio rock

  • First let me say I love your style of presenting that....... Awesome video!!

    Well I am a really big fan of KOL and I don't know if that has an affect on my opinion of this album, but my favourite album of theirs is probably Aha Shake Heartbreak, although it's really close between the 2nd and 3rd albums!! I think Come Around Sundown is a good album, it's easy to listen too and I really like all the songs! I think it's really different to the other albums but different isn't always bad!? Well

  • Too bad, KoL just havent been good since their debut. CAS is like softcore AOR with a spit gobs worth of Southern twang.

  • the end was good but the rest of it was boring as shit, you summed it up its a prius

  • Album and I'm really looking foward to seeing them live here in Australia in March!

    Thanks again Anthony and great review!

  • The fact that the album came out incredibly close to the last and personally, the affect of OBTN had not sunk in for me yet to be ready for the next. As a result I think thats why most people feel like all 13 tracks are too repetitive and lacking in contrast on the emotional side of things. All Caleb seems to sing about is a girl, fighting, the beach and God. And like you said, this album does lack an eccentric feel or a darker side but thats not a bad thing.

    The end result for me is a great

  • I can understand how some people prefer the rawness of a young garage rock/ indie band but I'm one to move with the times and quite frankly, I think if they returned to their original sound it would end up sounding contrived, stale and washed up. The direction that KOL have chosen is a very smart and neccassary one and I believe that when you achieve such a level of fame you want to eventually appeal to the broadist audience possible. Having said that the only thing I can point out negative is

  • Great review Anthony!

    I've been a KOL fan since YAYMH and was very impressed with OBTN.

    I was one of those guys that was like "How can you get sick of hearing Sex on Fire? Great song!" But more to the point I'm a musician in a band and I don't believe in comparing musicians to other musicians or past work to present so I'll say this; Come Around Sundown, I think, is their most mature and professional by far!

  • man - you are awesome at what you do! I'm a muso journalist in Sydney, Aus, but i work in print media.

    I thought the album was 'OK' - not their best by far, but it was still very 'listen-able'; it would be great background music for a summer party or something. When i reviewed it i found it hard to listen to the whole thing all the way through because it was very same-ish - sort of like different renditions of the same song... hohumm.

  • summed up perfectly! they have finally been smothered out. sub'd

  • CONGRATULATIONs WAS A GREAT ALBUM!!!!

  • They've gone dull, dull, DULL. And you're right, this drossness was definitely detectable in their earlier albums, BAR THE FIRST (which was awesome). There's a smattering of it on Because of the Times, a thick smearing of it on We Are The Night and, finally, on Come Around Sundown KoL have successfully drained their music of everything that made them interesting. Well done them!

  • Did you ever review Mumford and Sons's album from earlier this year

  • Kings of Meh

  • If youre going to have that kind of mindset your jus going to FAIL AT LIFE!!!!!!!!!! k?

  • Nice job Fantano, four is exactly what they deserved. I think I went into a deep depression the 1st time I took a listen to Come Around Sundown. The 1st time I listened to Radioactive, I thought the new Kings of Leon album would blow us all out of the water but no it just invited it us on a floaty :( I miss the 1st three albums kind of Kings of Leon.

  • Because Of The Times was probably the greatest album of the decade, and possibly the last 20 years.

  • @TrulyRawUniverse is this it? by far.

  • @TrulyRawUniverse wow, someone's not scared of hyperbole....anyway first two were much more awesome than the arena rock of BotT

  • Hey Anthony, I think you should review Julian Casablancas's 2009 solo debut album "Phrazes for the Young". I'd like to know your opinion on it.

  • Way better than Only by the Night. This record should please their new fans as well as most old fans, since it haven't got the overproduced quality of '' Use Somebody or '' Sex on Fire'' , but still is higly listenable. Like you though, I would like a little weirdness on the album, cause that's what made me listen to their three first albums....

  • i'm addicted to your album reviews

  • @CHADandTracyLoveYou Well thank you Chad and Tracy! :-)

  • KOL walked off stage last year because it was a bit windy.

    I think that says it all really...

  • All of u are jackass's that have no right to give opinion on KOL!!!! U are what real fans call use somebody fans!!! To all who compliment this album u are correct it it amazing work!!! Back to all jackass's watch the interviews for the album half of these were written during the making of all the other albums just didn't make the final cut, or they redone the song!!! Kol rocks!!

  • Without sounding like a dick head, I got bought their debut album the first day it came out and loved it. I love 'Aha Shake Heart Break' and I loved 'Because of the Time'. However, since then they just don't sound like the same band. You say it right when you say they don't have the energy or the passion in what used to make them stand out. They used to be a great band but now they just feel like 'another' band. it worries me too cause Arcade Fire seem to be losing their energy too.

  • I couldnt finish what i wanted to say in one comment :(

    Good bands progress and branch off to different sounds. A band cant release the same sounding album every time. And they have said in interviews that they wanted this album to be a "fun" album, which it is. And it has some amazing songs on it. like the end, pyro, mary, the immortals, and pickup truck. one of the songs on the deluxe version (celebration) even sounds like echoes or set the controls for the heart of the sun by pink floyd

  • I dont mean to sound like a dick or anything but i dont like when you say more accessible or w/e. It makes it sound like you are calling them sell outs. If that is what ur saying then i dont agree at all. I mean shit they have a blues, a curchsh gospel song, they have a country song, they have like a beachy surfer song, they have a funky song. They are by no means going mainstream. I love how each of their albums are different that way they don't get boring.

  • You really went all out with the editing this time, I lol'd pretty hard at "The End... ughh."

  • @Billhicks8 were you abused to The Edge's solos or something?

    Btw it's nice seeing Anthony acknowledge U2, at least he's not like those people who hate them just because they are extremely popular.

    Lastly, Anthony I'd love to know tour opinion on "The Joshua Tree" or "Achtung Baby"

  • @8bitprice

    'were you abused to The Edge's solos or something?'

    Yeah. Nah. In honesty I couldn't care enough about KOL or U2 to hate them, I was just throwing some spice around to make sure everyone was still awake.

  • Hey Anthony, you should check out Devil's Music by The Teddybears, they're a Swedish Electronica band, and there are some interesting collaborations on there (such as Cee-Lo and the B52's, and even the Teddybears and the Flaming Lips)!

  • request:

    artist: summer darling

    album: summer darling

    this excellent album is available for free download from the band, google it :)

  • haven't listened to it and have no intention to.

  • @MrChipmunkMobian

    It was an avalanche of shit, launched from the diarrhetic buttnozzle of a band that don't have the guts to kick the chair out when they know the noose is good and tight.

    'Energy of substance'? I don't even know what that means, but if it's something that the Kings of Leon used to have then it's probably something that could at least kill a small child with suck. Good to see they've moved up the food chain. Oops, I lie.

  • @billhicks8

    You're hilarious. Wish I could write my opinions like that. :)

  • FUCK your passivity this is for the subhuman MOR primitives that groan in pleasure and dribble incessantly whenever they hear The Edge coma over into one of his extended reverb wank-a-thons.

    I remember seeing Kings Of Leon live once (I can't remember where, probably in fucking limbo/hell) and I swore I could hear the wind howling through Caleb Followhat's hollow skull.

    Then I realised it was actually some Edge reverb ala Leon, and I threw up. 0/10.

  • hooray for Cream-bleeps!

  • hated this record

  • Holy shit, that fail at life thing just scared the fuck out of me

  • @TejasTwentyTwelve oh!!! i thought you were talking about the guy

  • will request this again. do a fucking retro review. :3

  • I don't like the singer's voice though I like the song 'Knocked Up' .

  • Ever since I've been watching your videos I keep ending sentences with "forever" and hum out that guitar tune

  • REQUEST: Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows: Songs of John Prine

  • FAIL AT LIFE!

  • i really really want to love this album. i just find it exactly what he said, complacent. wheres the hard edge from Youth and Young Manhood or Aha Shake. oh well. i still will listen to it because i love KOL. one thing tho, this album is awesome to listen to driving late at night. on an open road..really chill record

  • I love Anthony Fantano!

    and i like Youth and Young Manhood, and Because of the Times. I dont like anything else the've done.

  • He has the funniest intros ever!

  • The 13 year old indie kid me would have loved to hear Kings of Leon playing in his local supermarket but now it's just painful soft rock. To quote pitchfork "I preferred southern Strokes to southern U2".

  • Evolve. The word of the day for KOL. I don't think KOL ever set out from their first album to become this indie hipster band that only "cool" people who have amazing musical taste can appreciate (gag me). I see the progression in these guys. Their playing, song writing, delivery style has come a long way. I listened to CAS about 3 times before I formed an opinion. I think it's a pretty solid album. At this point though, KOL is damn if they do and damn if they don't.

  • I agree. This album sucks. It's lazy, blase, unimaginative, anti-climactic, sleepy and very tame. I listened to it once all the way through, and it was like sitting through a dental procedure explanation. I would have turned it off after the first two songs, but I try to be a reasonable man. Keyword: try.

  • Im gonna get hated on, but i really prefer the new sound of KOL.

  • ANTHONY, YOU SHOULD REALLY DO AN ALBUM REVIEW OF TOURIST HISTORY BY TWO DOOR CINEAM CLUB!!! IT'S GREAT!!!

  • first three albums were pretty good after that not so much. LOL @ the cup of tea joke

  • Request that y'all request on the homepage.

  • first three albums were pretty good after that not so much

  • REQUEST: Das Racist - Sit Down, Man

  • Request: Please don't review drag-out, cookie cutter bands like Kings Of Leon. Thank you :)

  • There's Wally

  • Yea Aha Shake Heartbreak is their best i think, they seem like they've lost their ambition.

  • Could you review FM Belfast's How To Make Friends?

  • REQUEST: Please review: Middle Class Rut - No Name No Color

  • great review as always. The best comparison I thought was their turn to CMT style music. It's really music meant to appeal to that fan base, and though a lot of people are into that of course, that something that they had back when they wrote songs like "Knocked Up" and "Holy Rover Novocaine" is just gone. I know I KNOW I should be over this by now, and yes I expected the album to be like this, but still, it's a shame, because at one point in time they really had something.

  • i would say after because of the times the band floatet down a river of shit. This Album is just commerce.

  • The Needle Drop doing a review on Kings Of Leon is like a starburst contradiction.

  • Fucking Love you Anthony , Thanks for the tip with the whole A Tribe Called Quest concert, you really helped me and i had a great fucking time.

  • I think this album is amazing. Very amazing.

  • REQUEST: Please review Swanlights by Antony and The Johnsons.

  • YES YES YES. THIS REVIEW IS SPOT ON.

    p.s. as far as being accessible but still being a great album Because of The Times is the only kol album that nails it. Anything after that album may as well be another band as far as i'm concerned.

  • REQUEST: Foetus - Hide

  • are you italian? just curious cause i am too

  • Review recommendation: The Foreign Exchange- Authenticity

  • Love it ... your metaphor´s are so wierd but also so on the spot simply love it ... and never regret the abo ... you shown me a lot new and interesting stuff Thx^^

    sorry for the spelling but i´m actually German and find it rather hard to express what I mean in English

  • ".. Or a hovercraft." rofl that's actually a nice analogy.

  • I want a hovercraft.

  • I have to agree with the review its good and mellow its not going to define them as a band but its still a good cd to listen to

  • Did I enter a time warp? Wth happened? Did KoL just decide to write their feel good album of their career? Certainly seems so! The production was awesome, and I'm sure a lot of us saw this coming, but I think this was meant to just get back on those good ol' top 40 radio stations. To appeal to, I don't know, most folks? Favorite album would definitely be Aha Shake Heartbreak.

  • that fail at life scared the fuck out of me

  • I don't really mind them at the moment for a mainstream pop rock band. I'm sure I will get annoyed with them and they will turn into the next Nickleback.

  • Kings of leon are one of the worst things ever, yes ive hered their early stuff and it sucked as well

  • You're dah best.

  • Kings of Leon and Queen of Stone Age. These two band I honestly and sincerely cannot tell the different between the two. They look similar, long hair-ish, moustache, and they all play similar guitars. I'm sure they sound different but hey, they confuse me.

  • I think the new album is ok. I absolutely love kol and am a little disappointed with the new album. Its def not aha shake heartbreak whick is my fav, but its good i guess. i def agree with lots of what u said. Not indie enough i think a little to commercal maby...? idk u do u people think?

  • not their best album, but still very good i think. they just flat out write good songs. their average work is more interesting to me than other peoples good work in a lot of ways. calebs voice is one of the best ever in any genre i think.

  • Keep doing what your doing

  • REQUEST:

    Artist: Paul Cary

    Album: Ghost of a Man

    very VERY good record that came out earlier this year. the whole thing is actually available for free at the Candy Dinner label site. Would love to get your thoughts on it! sort of a garage rock/blues feel to it

  • REQUEST:: FAKE PROBLEMS "REAL GHOSTS CAUGHT ON TAPE"

  • Dear Anthony, I have been watching your videos since the beginning of the summer and am absolutely grateful for the work you do. But i feel like the "Indie Music Scene" in Florida has been sadly left out of your awesome, awesome reviews. I would really like it if you would review the new album by Fake Problems called Real Ghosts Caught On Tape. because even tho i personally dont dig their new stuff all that great, i feel your words just might persuade me to feel differently. THANK YOU! (FAKEPROB

  • boring band

  • Request:

    Artist: Male Bonding

    Album: Nothing Hurts

    Subpop

  • FUCK THE LEON KINGS

  • I used to really like them, but their new stuff is just so lacking in anything interesting to me.

    Aha Shake Heartbreak is fantastic though.

  • REQUEST: Beach Fossil- Self Titled.

  • REVIEW

    Future Breeds

    by Hot Hot Heat

  • anthony, we are needlebros now.

  • Kings of leon can suck on my ball sacks

  • Motorhead -Inferno

  • aha heartbreak shake definitely.

    completely agree with you.

    their earlier albums were southern and soulful and sounded genuine.

    not that they "sold out" (because only by night was good) but they strayed a bit from what i liked in the beginning.

    You can't beat Taper Jean Girl but his voice will have me listening to every mediocre album they make

  • @fenway15 toatly agree

  • if you're willing to review a record that isn't necessarily NEW...

    it would be awesome if you did a Godspeed You! Black Emperor album.

  • Hey Anthony!! It's very hard for me to follow your intense way of life (listen a record per day). Anyway, i didn't miss your reviews because they are, as you said yesterday, AWESOME.

    See ya

  • their best album by leaps and bounds was Youth and Young Manhood

  • Oh KOL. First you walk off in a huffy last year at Reading Festival. Then you storm off stage after a few measly pigeons DARED to excrete all over your Givenchy clothes. And now you release this? Colour me incredibly unimpressed.

    I agree with you Anthony. There's just not enough 'oomph' in this album, especially considering how wildly eclectic Because of the Times was. Also, what the hell is up with the cover art? Looks like something one would find on google images.

  • Anyone remember that gig where the pigeons were shitting all over them?

  • great tie-in with the cup of tea... although the KOL are probably one of the most mainstream bands that I enjoy I actually did not like this album and it's by far their worst...

  • eyebrows @ 1:23

  • The Kings of Leon are a guilty pleasure of mine. I typically don't like alt-bro-anthem rock like them (Muse, U2, etc) but for some reason, I've always loved KoL

  • How do I keep missing the BlogTVs? Where are they posted?

  • these guys threw a fit playing a show here in saint louis.

    they complained birds were shitting on them during their set.

    they played their minimum requirement of 3 songs, and left the stage.

    fuckers.

  • ha ha cup of tea...

  • You are, by far, my favorite reason to take a study break now that I've quit smoking. Hell even back then I used to smoke a cig and watch the newest Needle Drop.

    Case in Point - You and Cal are going to make me fail college

  • Great Review.I Listen To It Open Minded Like Always. And I Feel The Same Way You Do About This Album. I Think The First 2 Albums Were The Band Best Work. They Used To Look And Play Good Rock And Roll. Now They All Look Like Calvin Klein Models.

  • REQUEST: "The Fool" by Warpaint. (When it comes out next week! The single "Undertow" is very very good).

  • REQUEST: ANGUS & JULIA STONE - DOWN THE WAY

  • i think you were a little generous to say some of the songwriting isn't bad, it's not much of an improvement on anything they've done before (opinion), i listened to this album twice in the widget that hit the waves last week, i won't be buying it, as i have every other kol release. some call it a culmination of their sound. for me, because of the times was that culmination, everything since has been a kick to the brimming bucket. yes i like puns. and your vlog. keep 'em comin'!

  • REQUEST: Panda Bear - You Can Count on Me - Single

  • I wish I had a Cream album go over my mouth whenever I cursed

  • hahah the carrot was fucking awesome!!!

  • Review the new "Maximum Balloon" album please.

  • When you say "FAIL AT LIFE"

    lol

    That was awesome.

  • @AdamLore Word

  • True to say it is a lot more vocally standing out then there previous albums. I think it's a more mellow album than what were use to fearing from KOL. All in all a pretty decent album in my opinion.

  • Great Review, Kings of Leon is killing me... they use to be one of my favorite bands, but now they are mainstream, hey everyone likes us why try, band. Sad day.

  • You're my favorite person ever.

    Doesn't have to do with the review or Kings of Leon.

    Just sayin'.

  • NOOO

    I always miss Blog TV :(

  • you are the pitchfork of youtube

  • REQUEST: How To Dress Well-Love Remains

  • @stevenmorrisEP

    Yeah, c'mon Anthony, review this already.

  • @hightimesbruce he's probably waiting for some to post it in the appropriate place..

  • you know what sucks? you could literally hear that there was no emotion behind the song and halfway through the song i just can't listen to it. they being really country and its weird! i miss their gritty hard southern rock not soft alt country music!

  • @whw524 totaly agree!

  • This review was lovely

  • Aha Shake Heartbreak is, in my opinion, Kings of Leon's Best Album Overall. Which Is Your Favorite?

  • @fatefallen93 i love you

  • @fatefallen93 agreed

  • @fatefallen93 their debut is my favourite, its just soo raw, and it was the first KOL album i listened to :))

  • Didn't Rock It Out Blog describe this the same way?

  • @ZyxthePest because thats what/ how it is.

  • @ZyxthePest I didn't even see. What vid did he do it in?

  • i handle my turntable needle very carefully.