Formed in 1999 by travelling preacher’s sons Caleb, Jared and Nathan Followill and their cousin Matthew, Kings of Leon delivered two benchmark albums of Dust Bowl garage rock Americana before losing their way among the compromises and sibling rivalries brought by huge success. However, lately Caleb has talked of a “renewed passion and kind of fire in us” and new album Can We Please Have Fun rekindles the old edge. The Tennessee rockers play eight songs from it here, opening with the gently epic Ballerina Radio and unveiling the likes of the hurtling punky Nothing to Do, which suggests an unlikely kinship with the Ramones.
Getting signature smash Sex on Fire out of the way early on is brave but means the show isn’t geared towards to the big number. In fact, that song’s XXL-sized chorus and “whooooah-ohhhhh”s prove something of an aberration among an enormous 27-song set list which gradually recasts them as masters of the beautifully restrained anthem.
