[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]When a band plays a hallowed stage such as Hyde Park for the fourth time, some questions arise: will they phone it in and keep doing what they do because it’s worked before, or will they test some boundaries to see exactly where they can take things? Sadly, Kings of Leon have opted far more for the former than the latter. Considering the wealth of talent they surrounded themselves with throughout the day – Frightened Rabbit, Pixies – it feels as though they may have lost their way.
The band’s boldest move comes in the form of opener ‘Over’, an album track from recent effort ‘WALLS’. With neither a punch nor something for the audience to grab on to, it idles by with no real reaction, but it does lay the groundwork for the follow-up tracks. The one-two of ‘Aha Shake Heartbreak’ favourites ‘Slow Night, So Long’ into ‘King of The Rodeo’ kickstarts the audience into remembering the fire that once burned. As fans of new and old meld together, the fact Kings of Leon have created a legacy is lost on no one: four boys who stumbled out of the backwoods and into the hearts of the zeitgeist in 2003 with banger after furious banger.
During one of the few times Caleb Followill approaches the microphone between songs, it’s a pleasure to hear a humble note from a band who are one of the biggest in the world. “How crazy it is we get to share this stage with Pixies?” As a group, they’re tighter than ever, but perhaps too clear cut. Where once the welcome surprise of hearing the slow strum intro to ‘Youth & Young Manhood’ deep cut ‘Trani’ would’ve meant experiencing the four of them lose all inhibitions, now it just feels empty and falls short.
The encore is where the biggest gun of them all is saved. ‘Sex On Fire’, which shot them far past arena-ready, and straight into stadium/festival headline status, receives such a unanimous reaction that it’s almost impossible to hear Caleb actually sing. However with ‘Waste A Moment’ taking place as the finale, they end just as they start – surprisingly lacking. Kings of Leon are certainly in a comfortable place in their career, but at what cost?[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]