Was That Kings of Leon On SNL?

I watched SNL last night for the first time in a long time, and was completely non-plussed. No, not by the lack of Andy Samberg, but by musical guest Kings of Leon, four guys from Tennessee who went from being a relatively interesting rock act to homogeneous alt-rock in the span of three albums.

Kings of Leon has never been my favorite band, but I gave their second album, Aha Shake Heartbreak, a few listens when it came out in 2004. Most of the tracks followed the same formula: Caleb Followill's distinct vocals over a bluesy guitar riff for just long enough to fill a 7" single. It wasn't revolutionary, but it wasn't so bad to listen to, and at least it was unique.

It was also after this record that Kings of Leon landed a fashion spread in Rolling Stone, their marketability hinging upon southern mystique, their ostensible devotion to whiskey (the only explanation for Followill's voice, I contend,) and a sound not completely unlike The Strokes'.

Fast forward to last night. James Franco giggled his way through an advertisement for Columbia University, the cast went esoteric on America with a drawn out Steinbeck sketch, and Kings of Leon played two boring, generic, and over-produced tunes. What happened to these guys being a little rough around the edges? They sounded more mimosa than Maker's Mark.

The songs appear on Only By the Night which drops Tuesday on RCA. I can't blame the band for signing to a major label, landing major press or playing a big tour. I won't hate on a band for being successful. I will, however, freely hate on a band that goes from making their bones by sounding at least a little bit different and then abandons that sound to make bland and uncontroversial music.

Two songs about fire by Kings of Leon:

Listen to Pistol of Fire (zshare) by Kings of Leon from Aha Shake Heartbreak (2004)
Listen to Sex on Fire (zshare) by Kings of Leon from Only By the Night (2008)