Artist: Kings of Leon

So what about the record itself? I don't know, what about it? It's neither good nor bad. It's neither an impressive musical statement nor the work of hacks. It's neither a commercial breakout or a last-ditch stab at relevancy. It is simply middle-of-the-road in every way conceivable -- highly listenable but profoundly uninteresting. It's going to sell millions, just as was fated a decade ago.

So, quit your griping, old-school Kings of Leon fan. These guys were never what you thought they were. Their handlers were too smart to let their charges ever be anything less than what they are, which is essentially the next U2.

09 Kings Of Leon - Radioactive

Best song: "Beach Side"

Rotation: Low
Deja vu: McDonald's cheeseburgers, the Toyota Corolla, The Eagles.
I'd rather listen to: The new Arcade Fire, while not exactly my cup of tea, certainly is a lot more compelling.
Grade: C. 

"Nothing Not New" is a yearlong project in which New Times editorial operations manager Jay Bennett, a 41-year-old music fan and musician, will listen only to music released in 2010. Each Monday through Friday, he will listen to one new record (no best ofs, reissues, or concert recordings) and write about it. Why? Because in the words of his editor, Martin Cizmar, he suffers from "aesthetic atrophy," a wasting away of one's ability to embrace new and different music as one ages. Read more about this all-too-common ailment here.