Opening track "Closer" rides a Tom Morello-in-Audioslave-ballad-mode guitar line to stunning effect, "Crawl" is a glammy relative of The Who's "The Seeker", "Sex on Fire" is one of the most immediately arresting singles released all year, "Use Somebody" is a tender, big-hearted ballad that works as an approximation of what Coldplay's Parachutes might have sounded like if it had the ambition and production of Viva la Vida, and so on. And accordingly, it's better to boot, with each of the first six songs outstanding in its own right. Literally everything about this record is bigger than all its predecessors - the melodic scope, the ambition, the production, the lyrical range, the pool of influences, the lot. The headline spot at this year's Glastonbury noted as an aside, those bigger things have arrived with Only by the Night. Because of the Times was no one-shot wonder album that left the band with nowhere to go it genuinely sounded like a step on the way to bigger things. For a band who'd had a hit single with a song containing just two notes, and a singer who had been doing a seriously convincing impression of somebody who can't sing, that was crucial. This is how posterity meets Kings of Leon in 2008 - unquestionably 2007's most improved band, their last album Because of the Times was so exciting and surprising not just because it came from a band who were previously so incompetent, but also because it appeared to promise that the necessary upward curve would undoubtedly follow. The curious thing about claiming the title of 'most improved' is that it means admitting two things that you once sucked, and that if you want to be considered truly great then it means that you need to keep improving. The song finishes as the texture drops right back down to just the guitar and vocals again, however there is a subtle bit of sustain from the strings which remain and hover within the mix, which give a sense of ‘relief’ from the big crash and leaves the listener feeling ‘settled’ from the loud, thick peak of the track.Review Summary: Once again, the Followill brothers improve exponentially.
The rhythmic texture also peaks, with the percussion having a heavy use of the snare and cymbals plus lots of fills, leading to a sound of the song crashing.
The build up ends into a crescendo as the strings pick up and dominate the song, playing a separate melody over the chords played by all of the other instruments and harmonising them. The build up reaches its peak when a subtle string section play along to the melody, and the toms pick up leading to the peak of the song. The dynamics further pick up as the drums build and volume picks up. The percussion develops, adding use of toms to thicken up the rhythmic texture of the song, while the added bass harmonises simple primary melody, emphasising the bottom end and melody of the track. While the song continues to build with the vocals leaping up and playing around the primary melody, another guitar is introduced (which is quiet in the mix compared to the other instruments), playing a repetitive and subtle melody, building up the texture and potentially hooks the listener, who may end up anticipating the big chorus. As the song progresses, vocals are introduced, and is followed by a simple repetitive bass drum, adding a low end to the mix and a builds up the rhythm and dynamics. The song starts off with one guitar (quite clean tone) play a very simple primary rhythm and melody. This song uses a very straightforward approach to the use of texture.