Kings Of Leon

Because Of The Times

[4.5/5] All hail the Kings Of Leon. The Southern rockers can slow-cook a seven-minute soulful heartbreak of a song about a rebellious couple with a bun in the oven ("Knocked Up"), and then flip the script into three minutes of the kind of skuzzy garage punk you’d find on an old cassette tape ("Charmer"). And that’s just the first two tracks on the Tennessee siblings’ third disc. The guys have never been afraid to embrace a wide range of rock, while throwing whiffs of psychedelia, spaced-out guitar noodling, good ol’ boy jams and more into the stew. This round, they’ve honed their sound perfectly, hitting every mark they set and making Because Of The Times kick so much ass that it demands you respect them as new rock royalty. (RCA) JR Griffin