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Now the melodies are sharper, the scissor kicks are higher and the grooves are, er, groovier.
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Wrongly cast as a chicken-fried version The Strokes after 2003’s stellar Youth & Young Manhood, on their latest, Aha Shake Heartbreak, The Kings prove that they’re a band of significant depth and originality.
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There's an early-Stones feel here it would be perverse to deny: 12 songs in 36 minutes, each with an indelible identiriff and its own seductive rhythmic shape.
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Apart from Caleb Followill’s distinctive, growly vocals--half-man half-grizzly--this could be a completely different band. A much better band. It’s quite an incredible transformation--and I’ll say this upfront: it doesn’t matter what you thought of their debut, you should listen to this album.
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New Musical Express (NME)It would seem from the evidence presented here that [King Of Leon] are intent on rebuilding themselves from scratch, drawing on whatever wild and wonderful influences they've tripped over in their race to live five lifetimes in every day. [30 Oct 2004, p.63]
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With shorter, tighter songs far more reminiscent of 80’s post-punk than Southern AOR, Aha Shake Heartbreak can only be considered a pleasant surprise.
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Ignore the lyric booklet and you have one of the more impressive albums of 2004.
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Q MagazinePerseverance with the rougher sound and jerky arrangements will be rewarded. [Dec 2004, p.129]
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MojoAn unexpectedly weird bolt from the blue, an ultimately outstanding crack at brokering an accord between spiky noo wave and fuzzy '70s stoner rock. [Nov 2004, p.116]
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BlenderIf their debut was a night of chasing skirts and drinking Jim Beam from the bottle, Heartbreak is the bitter, worn-out morning after. [Mar 2005, p.138]
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It sounds both unpretentious and new.
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A more focused effort that never sacrifices the band's manic intensity.
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While Aha Shake Heartbreak showcases four feckless stoners speaking in their own shop-class patois, it also captures them playing alarmingly sophisticated pop.
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Under The RadarIn taking back the rawness of [their] first e.p., the band have simultaneously acquired the courage to experiment with a surprising number of styles. [#9]
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Aha Shake Heartbreak surpasses the previous record by leaps and bounds; it is a triumph over the dreaded sophomore slump as much as it is a worthy feat in and of itself.
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The lyrical terrain is insultingly common (girls, life on the road, girls), yet the band has such an idiosyncratic method of expression that makes these everyday themes sound – at least over the course of each song – radically inspired.
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Unlike the Strokes, and say, Interpol, no sophomore face-plant here.
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FilterYet another collection of crafty, drunken stories of manhood devouring youth. [#14, p.101]
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If Youth and Young Manhood was Kings of Leon tentatively using well-tested implements, Aha Shake Heartbreak is the sound of a group boldly forging a unique identity from common tools that have been stripped of all pretense and decoration.
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Entertainment WeeklyThe tunes amount to sharply played but disjointed riffs. [25 Feb 2005, p.102]
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SpinThough they fit snugly inside their vintage genes, the Kings manage to make room for a surprising amount of heart. [Mar 2005, p.85]
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There's plenty to enjoy on the new album and Kings of Leon seem willing to play it slow and become a career act.
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Heartbreak is an instance when that hoary music-biz cliche -- "They're better onstage" -- rings true; ironically so, since the Kings and producer Ethan Johns recorded Aha Shake Heartbreak live in the studio, with no overdubs.
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It's their seamless and agreeable blend of rock & roll, country, and Roky Erickson-style psychedelia, matched with a keen lyrical wit, that makes them fascinating to both sides of the pond.
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Musically, at least, Kings of Leon have matured during their two years on the road and, if you ignore some of the less than elegant lyrics, they have produced an acceptable second album.
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What remains... is a jerky, cocksure indie group striving to be accepted as a proper grown-up Southern Rock band, without the guts, depth or tunes to carry it off.
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In song after song there are moments where it sounds like the band is weaving its way into a fantastic instrumental jam section, only to have the new idea abruptly cut short by the track’s end or an obligatory return to the next verse.
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The album's one redeeming element is the band itself, who-- over the course of one EP and two albums-- have improved tenfold.
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UncutNothing more than the uncomfortable sound of a band escaping their svengali. [Dec 2004, p.142]
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Only once do the Kings offer an identity worth bugging out in a club over, on the reckless and fantastic "Taper Jean Girl." The rest of the time, it all seems more confused and cynically gimmicked than inspired.
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While this is drastically experimental by their standards, there is nothing here you haven't heard done infinitely better many times before.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 118 out of 136
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Mixed: 7 out of 136
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Negative: 11 out of 136
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Oct 21, 2010
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KonKApr 25, 2007
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SidViciousSep 2, 2006