STACK #197 Mar 2021

FEATURE MUSIC

Clockwise from left: Kings of Leon in the studio, Mar '20; Nathan Followill during recording, Feb '20; Caleb Followill laying guitar parts in-studio, Feb '20. Images via @KingsOfLeon Instagram.

released yet another #1 album in the form of WALLS . One thing, however, has remained the same. “Way back when we started, we were playing a festival, and I realised that I did not have anything on my kick drum,” says Nathan Followill. He's the most senior member of the quartet: long-maned and bespectacled. “All the other bands had their bandname on the front, like an advertisement. I was like, 'Sh-t! I don't have one!'” (It's worth noting here that in a Nashville accent, nothing sounds too panicky, but this is probably about as panicky as it's possible for Nathan Followill to sound.) “So I grabbed my drum tech and said, 'Just go get some tape, and for now, we'll just put a K-O-L on there!' We did that, and we ended up keeping it for that whole festival run. Then I got an

together; the excellent Supermarket sees Followill using soft-headed mallets along with rim shots and tambourine. “That drumbeat came from just jamming,” says Followill, “but for some reason we had to play low. We couldn't play loud, they were doing something in the control room. So instead of hitting a loud snare, I was just sitting there clicking around [with the] snare off. That was really neat: [I was playing it like that] because that was the only way I could play it, in that particular moment, in that setting, without busting anyone's eardrums. And it worked. It was like a happy accident.” The beautiful AWave contains long sections which lean on the slurred beauty of singer Caleb's voice, without the full kit incorporated – but if you listen in, you can hear the gentle pulses of auxiliary instruments. “I love percussion; I love like bongos and tambourines and stuff like that,” Followill says. “They're just fun to play, but they add so much. Percussion can be so subtle, and tucked into a song, but stick out so much.” And Followill has a lot of that 'stuff'. “I have tons of [auxiliary percussion instruments] that I've picked up. And I would say 80% of it is from making records... You know, we've always tried to make it to [a point] where we want to make something that doesn't sound different when we play it live... that it's kind of a disappointment live. We always tried to make it as close live as it is on the recording. And luckily, now we have a couple utility guys in the band that give us a lot more freedom in the studio to

year.' But it was kind of comforting knowing that we did not have the immediate pressure on us to have it done by a certain date. That was wonderful.” To some artists, more time could make for a more manic experience – if you don't have the chance to nitpick, then you simply

have to put down the paintbrush. ”I would say we had moments where it could have gotten out of hand, overthinking stuff

endorsement deal, and [the drum manufacturer] started making my [drum] heads, [printed] so it looks like it's taped on there. It's very convincing,” he says. The scrappy-looking (though professionally fabricated) bandname acronym remains on the kickdrum skin for

Percussion can be so subtle, and tucked into a song, but stick out so much

and trying to add parts to it or change a part here or there,”

Followill admits, “and I can definitely see how that could get maddening. And how it would never work: the record would never be good enough, because you would always want to change something else. But... if one of

Kings of Leon's eighth album, When You See Yourself , out this month. The pandemic upended the group's usual tight schedule, something Followill says was something of a blessing. “There was one song on this record that I swear to you we probably worked on in some form or fashion for a few months – like, just because we had that time that we normally would not have had,” he says. “So that was great. I mean, none of us saw the future and thought, 'Oh, we're gonna make this record and then have to sit on it for a

us wants something, [we'll] hear him out and try to come to an agreement or solution. But for the most part, we're all like, 'Okay, if everybody else thinks it's better the other way, then we'll just do it that way.' I think that's part of being a family. Like, it's not as big a deal. It's not an ego thing.” The album roams through many moods and vistas, with a soft harpsichord that draws all its elements

make it bigger and more grandiose, and still be able to pull it off live..."

When You See Yourself by Kings Of Leon is out Mar 5 via Sony.

Continue to read the full interview online at stack.com.au

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