Kings of Leon: Because of the Times 2LP 180g Vinyl

Why you'll love it

This 2LP set on 180g vinyl spreads the album over four sides. Because of the Times landed in Top 10 album of the year lists, ranked No. 6 on NME's list of 2007's best, and Clash later named it No. 3 on its Clash Essential 50.

This edition

2LP set
180g vinyl

About the album

Three brothers and a cousin from Tennessee, the Followills had already turned scruffy Southern garage rock into a cult concern by 2007. Because of the Times is where they started thinking bigger, opening with the seven-minute "Knocked Up" and leaning into big, open-ended arrangements that leave space around every riff. Caleb, Matthew, Jared and Nathan wrote the songs together, and the record kept the grit their early fans loved.

Producer Ethan Johns gives Caleb Followill's yelp and Matthew's guitar plenty of air, while Jared and Nathan lock the rhythm down. "On Call" is a slow-burning anthem, "Charmer" bares its teeth, "Fans" has a big singalong heart, and "McFearless," "Black Thumbnail" and "Arizona" show the band moving toward the arena-sized sound to come. NME's Barry Nicolson said it cemented them as "one of the great American bands of our times."

Entertainment Weekly called it an epic wide-screen movie of a record, which suits the 2LP format nicely. Two discs also means more chances to get up and flip, which, for a band this good at slow builds, counts as exercise.

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