Kings Of Leon - Because of the Times

Kings of Leon are one of the only bands going right now who have attained a certain level of super stardom and deserve it. While their latest record, Only by the Night, is topping the charts, Because Of The Times set them in the right direction, and it is probably the best thing they will ever do. It's noisy, it's soulful, it's charming and its bloody impressive. Cool bass lines, fuzzy guitars and unique vocals are good to have, but they are better when your drummer is a good as Nathan Followill.

It starts with Knocked Up (or as I like to call it, Ghost Notes: The Song). Nathan keeps his touch light on the snare drum through the verses then wails on it intermittently during some loud dust ups. His snare work is really what makes this record so great. He throws in trills and ghost notes after his initial hits, sort of creating his own echo. He does it in Knocked Up, he does it in On Call, he does it McFearless, he does it in Black Thumbnail, My Party, and Ragoo too. Half of this record is impressive just because of his snare drum.

Now lets talk about his kick drum foot. During the chorus of McFearless he alternates quarter notes between his kick and snare, the pattern seems to change each bar, but he repeats it each chorus. Does he need to? No, but he does it to entertain guys like me. He can be light and jazzy like on The Runner, or he can keep it rocking like on On Call.

Nathan is one of those guys that is just a cool drummer. He's way cooler than me, and he's way cooler than you. Let's just listen to his records and embrace it.

Audio/Visual Evidence : McFearless, My Party, Knocked Up