Reviews of: Aha Shake Heartbreak

by Kings Of Leon

Aha Shake Heartbreak Kings Of Leon

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That said, brother Caleb's lyrical concerns are strictly of the old school: the likes of "Taper Jean Girl" and "Milk" deal with wine, women and song, although if you can decipher his ragged Southern twang – at times, eerily reminiscent of Frank Black's mangled Mexican on the Pixies' "Vamos" – you perhaps deserve some sort of medal. The Kings' strongest suit is probably their fast numbers – see "The Bucket", a hymn to the touring lifestyle hauled along by the seat of its pants by a rabid clatter of tom-toms. But "Milk" offers a rare moment of neat fragility, Caleb relating an eccentric tale of a girl with an "hourglass body" to the gentle pulse of Nathan's bass drum. --Louis Pattison

Reviews


A departure from the south

This album has some great songs. Album opener 'Slow Night, So Long' really grabs your attention and is the second best song on this LP. The best is 'Milk', a cracking tune. 'King Of The Rodeo' and 'Day Old Blues' also get special mention. What carried the Kings of Leon's first LP, 'Youth and Young Manhood' through the weaker tracks was the southernness of the LP. It existed as a complete album of high quality. On 'Aha Shake Heartbreak' they've departed from the southern sound, so there is nothing tying the album together. So alas, though this album has some great songs when the quality of the song dips the album loses a link. 'Aha Shake Heartbreak' is not as good as 'Youth and Young Manhood', but it's a good effort none the less.
2008-12-02

yew-haw

best of their 4 albums.
their most consistent, it really sounds like they are on fire and inspired.
raw rock at its best a-la 70's ac/dc or credence clearwater revival but not mere copyists, they have their own very unique twist on things.
better than the 1st album as this is more cohesive as the 1st was a mix of an earlier e.p and some new songs and as a result sounds a bit disjointed, i doubt they will ever be this good again as their next 2 albums are lacking in both fire and inspiration.
2008-10-15

Another triumph

After the impact of their brilliant debut album, the Kings' follow-up album was eagerly anticipated. And they delivered BIG time!

Aha Shake Heartbreak (though an odd name for an album) simply solidifies the thoughts among many (myself included) that the KOL are the best rock band to have come out of America for a long, long time.

It is chock-full of lively, driving numbers, awash with Caleb's Southern, twangy drawl, Nathan's snappy and precise drumming (check out "Velvet Snow") and Matthew and Jared's solid bass-lines and catchy riffing.

Top tracks include "Slow Night, So Long", "The Bucket", "Velvet Snow" and "Taper Jean Girl". "Milk" is a bit of an odd song as it's hard to understand what the opening lyrics are about, but it does build up well and is a good contrast to the others. And if there is a low-point, I would say it was "Day Old Blues", which just seems out of place. The pace of the album overall matches "Youth and Young Manhood" but my one criticism is that a lot of the songs are just too short and seem to be a bit rushed through.

Is it better than their debut? Personally I don't think so. (It certainly doesn't "[...] all over Youth and Young Manhood" like NME claimed it would). But it is a brilliant album, cementing the Kings' status as one of the top bands in the world today.

2007-05-22

SOUTHERN SPECTACULAR

How does one describe this album, southern american rock maybe, but oh how it rocks. Their first album was excellent, but they have actually gone one better.

This is one band you must listen too, because to describe them it would all just come out wrong, so do yourself a favour and treat yourself to some magic and make your own mind up.

SHEER CLASS
2006-10-03

In the top 5 albums of all time!

This album is just sheer brilliance, it has changed my taste in music completely. If someone described this album to me before I'd listened to it, I probably would have avoided it. Thank God I didn't!

It is brilliant all the way through, I saw them live in June 05 in London, and they were absolutely brilliant.

Not enough words in the English language to describe how awesome this album is.

If it's not already in your CD collection, or on your iPod, I have already lost respect for you!

Fantastic band, fantastic album - speechless!
2006-09-15

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