Kings Of Leon - Can We Please Have Fun

When Kings of Leon took to the Pyramid Stage to headline Glastonbury in 2008, their highest charting single to date hadn't even troubled the top ten. Fast forward just a few months and smash hits 'Use Somebody' and 'Sex on Fire' had forever changed their trajectory, marking a point of no return. Much as they might sometimes have wished otherwise, when glowering through an infamous Reading headliner, for instance, the toothpaste was out of the tube.

The title of new album 'Can We Please Have Fun?' is an acknowledgement of something lost along the way and the record represents a solid attempt to claw some of that back. 'Nothing To Do' channels the energy of their early records, while lead track 'Mustang' ’s terse rhythms, yelped vocals and inscrutable lyrics ("Are you a Mustang or a kitty?!" Caleb yowls in the chorus) is just a great rock and roll song.

Courtesy of producer of the moment Kid Harpoon (Harry Styles, Miley Cyrus, Maggie Rogers), the Followills sound sharper here than they have in years, foregrounding Caleb's vocal and toning down the wash of reverb that coloured previous releases.

"Think it over; it's as good as it's gonna be," Caleb wails on 'Hesitation Generation', and it's probably an apt assessment of their post-‘Sex on Fire' career. As long as they're now able to enjoy themselves and remember why they started playing music together in the first place, that's all you can ask for.