It’s ten years since vibrant debut Youth and Young Manhood, five years since they were wrongly written off by indie snobs for being too commercial, and three years since the genuinely piss poor fifth album Come Around Sundown killed the buzz. So where do we find the Followills in 2013?
Well, it’s definitely an improvement on the last one, but only just. While Caleb’s distinctive vocals still drip like treacle over the knife sharp guitar work, there is a debilitating lack of genuine fire in the heart that characterised their first four albums. It’s like a picture that’s been photocopied a few too many times. It’s a problem that is symptomatic of the whole album. While they try in vain to evoke their greatest moments, there is nothing here that can come even close to the dizzying heights of zeitgeist seizing ‘Sex on Fire’.
It’s not bereft of its moments, though. A decent opening salvo hints that the album might be better than it actually is; while the ironically titled ‘Comeback Story’ is the standout track. It comes complete with echoey string section and that distinctive melancholic reverb that had them filling arenas a couple of years ago. So while there is some faint evidence of the earlier fire breathing KOL, the album is far too fleeting and the rest is all a bit flat and, well… airy.