Kings Of Leon - Mechanical Bull

Mechanical Bull is the sixth studio album by American alternative rock band Kings Of Leon, released in September 2013 by RCA Records.

Sons of a preacher man and disciples of punk, the Kings Of Leon are Tennessee brothers (and a cousin) who rejected their religious roots in favour of sex, drugs and old-fashioned rock'n'roll.

Kings Of Leon started out as scraping, scrapping Southern garage-rockers, but they found their voice as the great American arena band of their generation on songs like their 2008 hit "Use Somebody".

Mechanical Bull though is loose and down-to-earth; you can imagine them bashing it out in a shed, albeit a very large one. "Rock City" suggests T. Rex going down to Muscle Shoals, with grotty-glam swivel and Caleb Followill "looking for drugs" while evocatively advertising his ability to "shake it like a woman." It takes a true man to make that kind of boast.

The Kings fold lowdown, raucous moments into what's become their trademark sonic and emotional expansiveness. The guitars on "Wait For Me" ripple like a desert oasis, and the single "Supersoaker" is a sterling road-dog anthem with dogfighting guitars.

Front-loading an album with the leadoff single can often be a sign of weakness in a release, but not in this case. Kicking off with the passionate "Supersoaker" merely sets the tone for this album. In fact, two of the best cuts come midway through, with the yearning "Wait For Me" and the bluesy, "Family Tree". Elsewhere, "Rock City" brings a heavy Mott the Hoople vibe to the fore and the raging "Coming Back Again" finds the band delving into War-era U2.

Having grabbed their career by the horns with Mechanical Bull, it's clear that Kings Of Leon aren't letting it get away from them anytime soon.

This double album 2LP record set is on black vinyl housed in a gatefold sleeve with printed inner sleeves and digital download code, pressed in Europe.