10 Almost Perfect Alternative Rock Albums

Kings Of Leon's third album was the last hurrah for the group as an alternative, edgy rock act. This was when they began straying into pop-rock. The conversion would be complete with Only By The Night - a record that saw Caleb Followill forever tarnish his reputation with the lyrics to Sex On Fire.

But, there was a lot of grit on this album. The group still had plenty of attitude to give; the post-punk influences were still present, with prominent bass hooks and bluesy guitar licks. Jarred Followill's punchy bass lines dictated the mood on tracks like Charmer and McFearless, Caleb delivered vocals that sounded like a drunken preacher, and Mathew's guitar still had some bite.

The group made a bold move opening the album up with such a slow burner, however. For a group who had ripped onto the scene with high energy numbers - Red Morning Light and, Molly's Chambers - this was a darker, more ominous change of pace. Knocked Up rolled on for seven minutes. The group focused on subtly building an atmosphere, rather than firing you up with rebellious energy.

Although it worked with the opening number, they hammered the concept, almost to the death, with tracks like Trunk and Arizona. It might not have been so egregious, if it hadn't signalled the start of this band's decline...