“Are we still having fun?” Shouts all four members of Kings of Leon over post-punk guitars and funky rhythms on “Nowhere to Run”, and it’s clear the answer throughout the album is “yes”. “Fun” is the main theme of the southern rock family’s 9th studio album, Can We Please Have Fun, and through the rollicking and weird journey the band takes us on over thirteen songs, what they’ve created is a wonderfully wild and fresh ride that’s as enjoyable for the listeners as it clearly was for the band to write.
Working for the first time with pop-leaning producer Kid Harpoon (Harry Styles, Florence + The Machine) at Dark Horse Studios, Kings of Leon have pulled out a bag of new tricks here that showcase a band unencumbered by the pressure to write radio-ready singles or songs to appeal to streaming algorithms. And thank goodness for that. Right off the bat, the band puts their bass-foot forward on “Ballerina Radio”, as Jared Followill lays down a propulsive line for wind chimes to float over, creating a cinematic scope with a nod to 80’s harmonics. While I won’t pretend to be able to decipher frontman Caleb Followill’s lyrics (“Everyone’s afraid to show, I’m a masochist I know. Ballerina radio”), that’s all part of the fun.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a simple power chord on the jaunty “Rainbow Ball”, with the band instead flirting with indie rock quirkiness and various percussive sounds while Caleb delivers lines like “I did it all for the love” through a sultry hush. And while first single “Mustang” definitely retains the dynamics that brought the Kings fame and adoration, the new range from spoken-word come-ons (“If you’re free tomorrow, don’t make any plans. We can go to Sylvan park and kick over trash cans”) to howling teases (“Are you a mustang, or a kitty? What are you all about?”) brings back the wily spirit the band had on their earliest albums.
Because those opening tracks are peppered with imagery that reflects the dark times we’re living in, the band has purposefully kept the album’s middle section meditative, starting with the dreamy, atmospheric “Actual Daydream”, that haunts with its stunted guitar riffs and tango movements. It’s all washed down with 80’s pop production elements that bring to mind pastel skies. Those 80’s influences continue on the moodier “Split Screen”, which balances a warm melancholy with pensive lyrics (“Settle down before you break it. This house ain’t for children. Doing jumping jacks in the basement. These arms are reaching out. Hyperventilation”). The section closes with the stripped-down “Don’t Stop the Bleeding”, which finds Caleb doing his best 50’s crooning.
Things go from zero to sixty then as “Nothing To Do” returns us to the loud, raucous rock and intense vocals that can get the blood pumping. “Touched by the thunder, kissed by the rain. I’m a man on a mission going insane” Caleb sings as if driving through a lightning storm. “M Television” is vibrant, new wave stadium rock while the wonderfully titled “Hesitation Generation” bobs along with a marching band pomp .
The album closes with the country-rock island lullaby “Ease On Me”, with has a future as a wedding slow dance staple with its ending “always on my mind” repetition, and the airy “Seen”, which astounds with its cascading choral harmonies and atmospheric textures.
In this day and age, when rock’s resurgence is more discussed as a theory than happening in reality, more bands should take a page out of Kings of Leon‘s book and write music that brings them joy. It shines through in the finished product, giving us an album that sounds like a veteran band revitalized and excited to share the fun with future audiences.
The album is out on May 10th, and you can catch the band on tour this year. Listen to the pre-released songs here!
The Indy Review 
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