The mysterious Followill family returns to the front porch/garage on the Kings of Leon's engaging sophomore effort, Aha Shake Heartbreak. On Youth & Young Manhood, the Kings gave Southern rock a swift kick in the rear, sounding like Lynyrd Skynyrd posing as a bunch of N.Y.U. film students (or vice versa). For their latest, the Nashville quartet raises a flag that's equal parts Confederate and Union Jack. Their success in the U.K. is understandable, as Caleb Followill's lazy drawl sounds like a cross between Bon Scott, Ray Davies, and Eddie Money with a slight Jamaican accent, but it's their seamless and agreeable blend of rock & roll, country, and Roky Erickson-style psychedelia, matched with a keen lyrical wit, that makes them fascinating to both sides of the pond. On the twenty-something barfly opener "Slow Night, So Long," Caleb laments/celebrates the soulless dance of the one-night stand ("She's opened up just like she really knows me/I hate her face, but enjoy the company") like a true student of outlaw country. It's a theme that runs rampant throughout Heartbreak, and whether it's set against a swamp-sick boogie ("Pistol of Fire") or emitted through a lonesome yodel ("Day Old Blues"), it resonates as clear and cool as the opening notes of a Creedence Clearwater Revival tune.

A1        Slow Night, So Long
A2        King Of The Rodeo
A3        Taper Jean Girl
A4        Pistol Of Fire
A5        Milk
A6        The Bucket
B1        Soft
B2        Razz
B3        Day Old Blues
B4        Four Kicks
B5        Velvet Snow
B6        Rememo
B7        Where Nobody Knows