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9.0
59095
9.0 |
Clash
A strong, engaging return to form, Mechanical Bull is made to ride. Strap in and enjoy
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9.0
59099
9.0 |
Uncut
Zeroed in on their gifts for visceral rock grooves and soaring hooks. Print edition only
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8.0
59118
8.0 |
Time Out
There are blips ... but they’re minor, and there are enough gems on Mechanical Bull overall to call it a return to form
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8.0
59194
8.0 |
Spin
If this album isn't the charismatic adolescent of 2004's Aha Shake Heartbreak or the cocksure 25-year-old of Only by the Night, then it's at least the cool uncle who'll drink beer with you after the kids have gone to bed
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8.0
59329
8.0 |
The List
They have weathered the storm, and to produce something with the energy that permeates from Mechanical Bull is surely a signifier that their legacy will continue
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8.0
60691
8.0 |
Entertainment.ie
Pure and simple, Mechanical Bull is classic rock music from a pre-eminent rock band
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7.0
59419
7.0 |
No Ripcord
Most of the songs are wrapped around a playfulness that’s informed by the shadows of the past of classic rock n’ roll
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7.0
59322
7.0 |
PopMatters
Mechanical Bull won’t make everyone happy, but the Followills have come back after a booze-and-burnout sabbatical sounding not just refreshed but enriched
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7.0
59234
7.0 |
Consequence Of Sound
The sound of a band reviving its former selves for the benefit of each other and for their longtime fans, and it’s their best album since Aha Shake Heartbreak
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7.0
59245
7.0 |
Rolling Stone
Although their sixth album hardly feels like a comedown, or an apology, it's loose and down-to-earth; you can imagine them bashing it out in a shed, albeit a very large one
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7.0
59227
7.0 |
Slant Magazine
The band is just about out of transgressive fury, but they manage to muster enough rigor and discipline to keep Mechanical Bull kicking
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7.0
59181
7.0 |
All Music
Mechanical Bull, comes as sweet relief. While still retaining Kings of Leon's penchant toward bombastic, hooky choruses and driving guitars, Mechanical Bull feels breezier and less labored than Come Around Sundown
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6.7
59235
6.7 |
A.V. Club
On this record, they sound weary even when they aren’t trying
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6.0
59192
6.0 |
The Arts Desk
This album has plenty worth living with if not getting hyper-excited about
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6.0
59149
6.0 |
Independent on Sunday
Whatever they say, this isn’t the “comeback story of a lifetime”: it’s the low-risk re-entry bid of a band who know where their bread is buttered
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6.0
59151
6.0 |
The Observer
They're back in the saddle, punching their timecards with a little more brio than of late and a tad more good feeling
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6.0
59167
6.0 |
NME
Sees them only half-remembering how fun it is to make an album and remaining frustratingly wary of letting totally loose
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6.0
59100
6.0 |
Sputnik Music (staff)
While Kings of Leon haven’t really broken any new ground, they’ve refined an older sound and brought it into a new decade
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6.0
59102
6.0 |
Mojo
The enormodome-courting trappings of recent years linger on. Print edition only
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6.0
59103
6.0 |
Q
Has its flaws but also brims with personality and passion. Print edition only
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6.0
59098
6.0 |
The Fly
The return to form many craved has proved impossible, but this is the sound of youths grown into their manhood
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5.0
59097
5.0 |
DIY
Uninspiring, unexciting, largely forgettable – this is nothing more than Kings of Leon by numbers
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5.0
59136
5.0 |
Drowned In Sound
It can get rocky at times and even a little bit dull, but there’s enough here to suggest that they’re on the way back up after hitting rock bottom
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4.3
59291
4.3 |
Paste Magazine
The Followill boys wrap a collective fist around their Southern-fried rock, wind up and aim to throw it to legendary status. Unfortunately, they miss
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4.2
59230
4.2 |
Pretty Much Amazing
The sound of Kings of Leon de-fanged, de-crowned, and de-throned, further evidence of their inexorable slide towards artistic irrelevance
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4.0
59191
4.0 |
The Scotsman
Stadium ballad Beautiful War sounds like a lethargic U2, while Comeback Story begs the question that if Kings of Leon are based in the country music capital of the world, why do they need to import this pale pseudo-Mumfords imitation?
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4.0
59096
4.0 |
musicOMH
Mechanical Bull is an apt title for the record. It feels mechanical, a band on auto-pilot, going through the motions of songwriting and recording but with their hearts elsewhere
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