A-Ha, that 80’s band with that one single, the really catchy one, you know the one I’m talking about. Well, what a perfect word to start the Kings of Leon new album, "A-Ha Shake Heartbreak." Released in Britain in November, the new Kings of Leon are 80’s children. The music given to us by the Followills on their sophomore effort almost proves that you can in fact take the country out of the boy, but not quite. The album opens with, "Slow Nights, So Long", which is such an interesting track. It brings out the “slowish” country blues punk fever the kings gave us so well with, "Joe’s Head" and mixes it with their faster stuff like, "Happy Alone." But when that breakdown kicks in, we know it’s a whole new ball game. This song closes with a melodic rhythm section and a bongo’s sort of luau vibe. The kings only come close to musically grasping their southern image in two other tracks, "Milk" and "Day Old Blues." Yet even then their influences from the European popular music scene are not completely lost. What endless tours and being huge pop stars in Europe has brought the kings a hefty dose of big headedness. What we are given is a mouth dropping expression of an album. Every song on this album is a “classic” Kings of Leon track without sounding much at all like their first album. The kings are very fast in making themselves a noticeable chunk of the modern rock scene. Nathan [drums] and especially Jared [bass] make such a large leap forward in their playing. Jared and his bass are all over this album and is an absolute integral part of forming the personality of this album. Nathan finally lets go of his 4/4 Doug Clifford time keeping and spreads his wings a little, but needs to go further. The lyrics are everything that made the first album so noticeable and are now so much more. The only member who doesn’t seem to make a change for the better is Matthew. His guitar playing, where it’s given time to stretch out is not any more impressive than on, "Youth and Young Manhood." "A-Ha Shake Heartbreak" is all the makings of a modern rock classic. A new sound with much pop sensibility, a band changing themselves and growing by leaps and bounds and most importantly stylish and ass kicking music.