Kings of Leon have been in full-on promotion mode to prepare for the release of their upcoming album, Walls. After releasing the song and accompanying video for the record’s first single, “Waste a Moment,” the band is debuting a new song already and it’s titled “Around the World.”
The band performed the fresh track on an episode of Later … With Jools Holland, and it goes in a much different direction than you would expect. “Around the World” is a breezy pop song with great guitar work and a fun vocal melody. It’s pretty similar to their “Waste a Moment” single, as both are much more upbeat and stray away from the band’s known alternative rock arena sound. Though “Around the World” was only debuted in this live setting, the studio version could sound a bit differently, but it’s a solid taste for what to expect on the record when it comes out on October 14th through RCA Records.
Kings of Leon discussed their venture into a poppier sound with Entertainment Weekly, saying that they want to change people’s perception of them with the new album. They mentioned how their music isn’t necessarily the kind that most listen to, but hopes Walls will change that. Judging by “Waste a Moment” and “Around the World,” it’s only a matter of time until the perception does change, and maybe change for pop radio, too.