Come Around Sundown
by Kings of Leon
  • Record Label: RCA
  • Release Date: Oct 19, 2010
Metascore
64

Generally favorable reviews - based on 27 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 27
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 27
  3. Negative: 2 out of 27
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  1. No Ripcord
    Dec 21, 2010
    60
    While enjoyable and familiar, this set of songs reflects a band who knows what music they don't want to be making but haven't--at least, not yet--determined what it is they want to be defined by instead.
  2. cokemachineglow
    Dec 21, 2010
    60
    Sundown is still considerably boring when compared to the likes of the Kings' first three albums. It's also too long, the back end sacked with faceless mid-tempo songs devoid of hooks that can't compare to the mini-epics up front.
  3. Delusions of Adequacy
    Oct 26, 2010
    60
    If you're an old, die-hard Kings Of Leon fan Come Around Sundown will upset you. Keep what you love about this band close to your heart and ignore this album, you'll thank yourself in the end.
  5. Dot Music
    Oct 22, 2010
    60
    It's all a show with Kings Of Leon, and there's nothing they yearn for more than the chance to exercise their sexual prowess.
  6. Slant Magazine
    60
    Come Around Sundown buys Kings of Leon at least a little more time as the champions of mass-appeal Dixie garage rock.
  7. Mojo
    60
    It's still a safe record, however, neither spasm of petulant experimentation hell-bent on commercial suicide, nor return to the good old days beloved by original fans but viewed warily by the new. [Nov. 2010, p. 94]
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  8. New Musical Express (NME)
    50
    Ultimately, too many of these tunes are rehearsal room grooves in search of a hook.
  9. AllMusic
    50
    Released two years after the international breakthrough hit Only by the Night, Come Around Sundown continues Kings of Leon's journey into the upper echelon of mainstream pop/rock, with super-sized choruses and guitar heroics thrown in for good measure.
  10. Chicago Tribune
    50
    In search of the grandiose, Kings of Leon seem to have forgotten how to rock. It's as if the quartet wanted to become the next U2 so badly that it lost sight of how it got here in the first place.
  11. PopMatters
    50
    It's an album that feels more about hanging on to the sudden influx of fans than about moving the message (whatever that is) forward.
  12. NOW Magazine
    40
    The Followill boys were experimenting and started leading us somewhere. The fact that Come Around Sundown falls short, then, is all the more disappointing.
  13. The Guardian
    40
    Here, the Kings of Leon have largely chosen – albeit through audibly gritted teeth – to stick fast to the Bono-approved stadium rock that caused Pitchfork to dub them Y'all 2.

Awards & Rankings

24
#24 Most Discussed Album of 2010
89
#89 Most Shared Album of 2010

User Reviews

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User Score
6.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 132 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 88 out of 132
  2. Mixed: 22 out of 132
  3. Negative: 22 out of 132
  1. rfowl009
    Oct 20, 2010
    10
    A stellar followup to their breakout album "Only By Night", Kings of Leon continues delivering rousing anthem rock with a resonant emotionalA stellar followup to their breakout album "Only By Night", Kings of Leon continues delivering rousing anthem rock with a resonant emotional undercurrent. It's great work, and people who protest ought to take note that they're not "pushing the envelope" because they don't have to and that they haven't "sold out" because their sound, while on a grander scale here, still retains the soulful spirit of their first three albums.… Full Review »
  2. BigJ1970
    Oct 21, 2010
    3
    Although this album isn't as bad as the last two, I still feel cheated. Although there are brushes with greatness, KOL doesn't quite commit.Although this album isn't as bad as the last two, I still feel cheated. Although there are brushes with greatness, KOL doesn't quite commit. Almost as if they believe that if they churn out something actually resembling rock that they are "cheapening" their artistic greatness. Ultimately KOL has become a clique, a perfect example of what happens when a great band starts believing their own press.… Full Review »
  3. boozm
    Oct 19, 2010
    1
    This is the sound of a band losing all its credibility, the sound of a band failing to recreate any sense of emotional authenticity that theyThis is the sound of a band losing all its credibility, the sound of a band failing to recreate any sense of emotional authenticity that they once successfully postured. What an insult to the noble notion of rock and roll. What dull rubbish fed blindly to the (mostly British) tone-deaf masses. What filth. With the last album and this one, which is only marginally better, the Kings of Leon have discredited the worth of all their previous work. An awful collection of songs that say nothing, literally nor emotionally. 1 point for not having anything closely resembling 'Sex on Fire'.… Full Review »
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