The wait is over.
Kings of Leon have posted two incredible new tracks on MySpace, giving fans a taste of their fourth album, Only By the Night, which is due next month. The first is leadoff single “Sex On Fire,” a slow-burning rocker driven by searing guitars and lusty lyrics like, “Hot as a fever/ Rattling bones/ I could just taste it.”
The group’s frontman Caleb Followill admitted that he had second thoughts about the words after he finished the song. “I thought it was ridiculous but the guys thought it was a hook,” the singer told BBC Radio. “I was like, ‘Come on man, I gotta be singing about someone’s fiery sex for a year and half? It’s a bold title, y’know, we’re getting old and we’re trying to make people think we have still have the sex drive that we did.”
Kings of Leon debuted the song live over the weekend at the All Points West Festival, prompting an unsolicited endorsement from headliners Radiohead. During their first encore, Thom Yorke dedicated the song “Airbag” to Kings of Leon and told the crowd: “If we were that good looking, we’d be famous.”
The second track Kings of Leon are previewing from the album is called “Crawl,” which is all-around blues-ier, heavier and more aggressive, but no less tantalizing. The group offered it as a free download in the first week of August.
“I think a lot of people expect a certain element of sex to our music and there’s a tinge of sex throughout the record,” Followill said.
Only By the Night is set for release on September 23, the same day Kings of Leon launch an extensive North American tour with support from the Stills, the Whigs, and We Are Scientists. The tour stretches through November 19, when the quartet plays a hometown show at Nashville’s Municipal Auditorium.
Starting September 1, you can watch video clips and home movies documenting the making of the album on MySpace, YouTube, and www.kingsofleon.com.
“We took some risks but you have to make a record you’re pleased with, you can’t worry about anybody else,” Followill said. —Aidin Vaziri
Only By The Night Track Listing:
‘Closer’
‘Crawl’
‘Sex On Fire’
‘Use Somebody’
‘Manhattan’
‘Revelry’
‘Seventeen’
‘Notion’
‘I Want You’
‘Be Somebody’
‘Cold Desert’