The 15 Best Kings Of Leon Songs

Album: Come Around Sundown

Release Date: October 19, 2010

Mechanical Bull Equivalent: "Don't Matter"

Most of the KOL catalogue consists of country-infused, Southern rock, but there is a small sample of songs that exude a pure punk attitude. In an interview with ClashMusic.com, the band discussed the inspiration behind “No Money,” a record bassist Jared described as having “a vocal like the Misfits.” Lead guitarist Matthew further explained that, “When you start with a song called, “No Money,” you know what direction you’re going to go with. You know it’s going to be punk rock. You know you want it to sound dirty and raw.” There is no delicate way to touch on the topic of being flat ass broke. It’s a relatable story that evokes bitter, gutted, emotions and the brash, aggressive, character of this song suits that subject matter perfectly.

Album: Only by the Night

Release Date: September 19, 2008

Mechanical Bull Equivalent: “Tonight"

KOL reached a critical tipping point just before the release of their fourth studio album, Only by the Night. Although the band had already achieved a significant level of international fame, they hadn’t yet been able to secure the love and admiration of the folks at home. In an effort to cross over that commercial threshold, Kings Of Leon recorded and released a collection of overtly polished, radio friendly songs, like “Sex On Fire” and “Crawl.” Their core fan base quickly criticized the move, labeling them as sellouts. However, at the time it was clearly a risk they were willing to take. Despite compromising their Southern, rebellious, reputations and alienating some early admirers in the process, the decision to go arena rock over everything resulted in “Use Somebody,” their most commercially successful song to date.

Album: Holy Roller Novocaine EP

Release Date: February 18, 2003

Mechanical Bull Equivalent: "Wait For Me"

This is one of the first songs KOL ever recorded. Initially released as part of the Holy Roller Novocaine EP, it was redone for inclusion on their debut album, Youth & Young Manhood. While both versions are impressive and ultimately rely upon the appeal of their honest and relatable lyrics, this acoustic original stands out as the stronger of the two. Shortly before playing “California Waiting” during a VH1 Storytellers’ performance, Caleb stated, “We kind of sabotaged it on our album, and tried to play it real punk rock. It was better on the EP I think.” He was right.

Album: Come Around Sundown

Release Date: October 19, 2010

Mechanical Bull Equivalent: "Wait For Me"

Sometimes it’s hard not to interject personal opinion into these pieces. When it comes to bands like Kings Of Leon, of whom I’ve been a personal fan of since roughly 2005, it would be nearly impossible to separate my perspective from the writing. With that said, it’s because I so greatly enjoy this band that I’m at times over-critical. I was pleased when Because of the Times came out because to me it showed impressive growth by the band on all fronts. When Only by the Night released, I blasted it because I felt like it was too commercial, too calculated, and too pussified.

After being let down by what myself and others viewed to be a “sellout” move, it took me a long time to warm up to KOL’s fifth studio album, Come Around Sundown. Expecting a lame duck, I didn’t touch the release for months. Once I finally mustered up the courage to give it a spin, the first song that clearly stood out was “Pyro.” Not because it was some glossy, made-for-radio kick-starter like “Sex On Fire,” but because it was the opposite: a well-written, even-tempered record with a persisting refrain and lead guitar hook. It represented the re-grounding of a band that had damn near disappeared into egocentric outer space, and it gave true fans hope that KOL still had some old diesel gas left in the proverbial tank.

Album: Youth & Young Manhood

Release Date: August 19, 2003

Mechanical Bull Equivalent: "Supersoaker"

This is a song writing technique we've all seen before. A young aspiring rock star hunts for clever ways to craft a song about sexual conquests. He gets wordy with the lyrics. Terms like “hooker” get replaced with “bird.” Next he’s brandishing a nifty analogy about fellatio and blowing feathers. This is textbook shit. If you’re looking for “We Are The World,” you best plug another nickel in the jukebox, because inspiration in a song this is not. “Red Morning Light” is bottled testosterone in audible form. It’s brash, fired up, and fun. Just the type of content you’d expect to hear from young 20-somethings on the rise, only in a more entertaining and less douchey fashion.

Album: Aha Shake Heartbreak

Release Date: February 22, 2005

Mechanical Bull Equivalent: "Don't Matter"

True rock and roll songs usually revolve around a limited number of topics: partying, women, or fighting. “Four Kicks” covers the latter two and is quite literally a song about bringing a gun to a knife fight. Lyrics like “You with your switchblade posse/I’ll get my guns from the South/We’ll take to the yard like a cock fight/Four kicks who’s struttin’ now?” and “She’s a lovin’ on the boy from the city/I’ll be lovin’ him under my shoe,” clearly allude to winning over a woman’s affection by forcing her other love interests into early retirement.

Album: Youth & Young Manhood

Release Date: August 19, 2003

Mechanical Bull Equivalent: "On The Chin"

The population of Talihina, OK was 1,114 at the time of the 2010 census. That figure was down 8.0 percent from 1,211 in 2000. Not only is the town tiny, it's shrinking. It's a pin drop along Highway 271, somewhere in between Oklahoma City and the middle of nowhere. Make no mistake, the Kings Of Leon aren't from Talihina, but they do have roots there, and it's a place that very clearly made an impression on them growing up. From the title of this song, to the title of the documentary that details their lives, Talihina has had a reoccurring cameo in their careers. As a result the band recorded "Talihina Sky" as a secret track on their debut album. It's a beautifully raw record, acoustic and aptly harnessed. At a time when 98% of the band's music was so fiery and pugnacious, this song showed a much softer, melodic side, one that shines through more brightly than ever on their new album.

Album: Youth & Young Manhood

Release Date: August 19, 2003

Mechanical Bull Equivalent: "Coming Back Again"

EDM and rap have been taking direct heat lately due to their association with, and at times glorification of, MDMA use. Widely known as “molly,” a pure form of ecstasy, the street name has recently been forced into the national spotlight following the party drug’s assumed association with the death of some festival-goers over the summer. Those in the know will tell you that molly is nothing new, in fact the Kings Of Leon have been singing about its effects for the better part of a decade. Or at least that’s the rumor.

“Molly’s Chambers,” the second single off of Youth & Young Manhood has been speculated to have a few different meanings. On one hand it’s assumed that “molly” represents ecstasy, and the song is about the experience of rolling. Others argue that “Molly’s Chambers” is quite literally an analogy for the sexual corridor of a woman named Molly. Whichever version you choose to believe, there’s no denying that the song is rambunctious, and has long been a staple crowd pleaser of the band’s live performances.

Album: Aha Shake Heartbreak

Release Date: February 22, 2005

Mechanical Bull Equivalent: "Supersoaker"

Classic KOL is best defined by an energetic, brazen tone, and Caleb’s signature indecipherable vocal technique. “King of the Rodeo” displays both of these characteristics, and is an ideal sample of some good old fashion, beer bottle busting Southern rock. It’s dusty, flippant, and even supported by a low-budget video that finds a younger Followill clan unexpectedly soundtracking a barnyard square dance. Aha Shake Heartbreak is an album full of excellent records, but “King of the Rodeo” is one of the biggest and best of the lot.

Album: Only by the Night

Release Date: September 19, 2008

Mechanical Bull Equivalent: “Beautiful War”

Lost in the circus hoopla and bullshit surrounding the release of Only by the Night, was the importance of the album's haunting closer, “Cold Desert.” At the time, the band was summiting the apex of their popularity. While from the outside it would seem as if the stars were finally aligning, internally the stresses and temptations of fame were beginning to take their eroding toll on the band’s focus, relationships, and health.

In the documentary Talihina Sky, Caleb discusses why the song made the album, when it was recorded, and how it had a sobering impact on his life. Although it isn’t a true-to-form, kick your fucking speakers in KOL record; it is rich with emotional, reflective, lyrics. The kinds that give you goose bumps. “Jesus don’t love me / No one ever carried my load / I’m too young to feel this old” are jarring phrases to hear out of the mouth of a traveling minister’s son, particularly one with a history of religious servitude. It’s Caleb’s unintentional, desperate, transparency that makes “Cold Desert” one of the realest songs they’ve ever recorded.

Album: Because of the Times

Release Date: April 3, 2007

Mechanical Bull Equivalent: "Temple"

If you want to feel manly, sexy, and badass all in one fail swoop, then “On Call” should be your new ringtone. What starts as a calm, smoky record, quickly baselines into a heroic anthem about protection and dependability. It’s a song detailing that classic damsel in distress scenario. There’s danger afoot, your female is in the crosshairs, and only you can save her. You’re on call, to be there.

Album: Aha Shake Heartbreak

Release Date: February 22, 2005

Mechanical Bull Equivalent: "Rock City"

Mainstream notoriety didn’t truly come for the Kings until the release of songs like “Sex on Fire” and “Use Somebody.” Predating those hits was the explosively suggestive record, “Taper Jean Girl,” off 2005’s Aha Shake Heartbreak. Most may not have realized it at the time, but Hollywood was a big proponent of the song. Among other places, it showed up in a season three episode of HBO’s Entourage, during a scene and in the credits of the 2007 film Disturbia, and on the soundtrack for the 2008 movie Cloverfield. By choosing to license the song in that fashion, it had the band everywhere at once without ever really making them feel forced or overexposed.

Album: Because of the Times

Release Date: April 3, 2007

Mechanical Bull Equivalent: "Family Tree"

You would be hard pressed to find a catchier record in the KOL catalogue than “Ragoo.” This becomes an even truer statement when listened to it in context alongside the rest of Because of the Times. Critics praised the release for its cohesiveness and flare of maturity, traits that had been largely absent from previous albums. The topics about which they sang had become heavier. The entire package was more polished, and for the first time fans were receiving a product crafted under the pressure of critical anticipation. Despite lofty expectations, the Kings Of Leon delivered in spectacular fashion. While there are plenty of other shining moments on the album, “Ragoo” is by far the most effortless and relaxed piece of entertainment on the disc.

Album: Youth & Young Manhood

Release Date: August 19, 2003

Mechanical Bull Equivalent: "Don't Matter"

The lyrics and meaning of the single “Trani” are widely debated amongst KOL fans. This is largely because Caleb poorly annunciated his words, and historically used a number of vocal diversions in the band’s earlier material to more or less fuck with people. Phrases like “Pack of smokes and a little bump of cocaine, help you feel not so strange” and “Said old Pa, ‘She don’t get off, unless somebody standing near,’” imply that this is a record about drugs and kinky sex. Could it all be so simple? When it comes to the Kings Of Leon, the answer is often no.

As you listen through the complete assemblage of the song, you quickly pick up on the distorted intensity that fills the backend of the record like the distended belly of a python that just fed on the village’s fattest hog. That belligerent growl could be the audible equivalent of an old transistor radio, or trani for short, cranked up to max volume. “Oscillating on the ground/Blowing white noise sound/Like a trani on ten” most likely contains a double meaning: it’s either in reference to a transvestite hooker overdosing on blow, or a fully charged old radio being played so loudly that it’s cackling and puking on the ground. While the lyrics may be debatable, the song’s bloody-fisted, aggressive, demeanor is not.

Album: Because of the Times

Release Date: April 3, 2007

Mechanical Bull Equivalent: "Walk A Mile"

The Kings Of Leon have built a career out of formulaic instrumental layering. Some of their best songs start off faint, unassuming, and relatively harmless before intensifying into a contentious crescendo of rigid guitar riffs and percussive palpitations. Such is the case with the lead song off their third and most well rounded album to date, Because of the Times. The title “Knocked Up” speaks for itself. This isn’t a record about sock shopping with your Aunt Lisa; it’s about gritty real life shit. When a relationship begins to spoil, the options for keeping it together are limited. People can either work harder, give up, or in some cases, get knocked up.