Aha Shake Heartbreak

Aha Shake Heartbreak is the second studio album by American rock band Kings of Leon. It was first released in Europe on November 1, 2004, then in the United States on February 22, 2005, with alternate cover artwork. It is the only album by Kings of Leon to have a Parental Advisory label, because of profanity in "Taper Jean Girl," "Rememo," "Soft" and "Four Kicks." The U.S. album cover is reminiscent of Queen's A Night at the Opera.

Aha Shake Heartbreak
Studio album by Kings of Leon
Released	November 1, 2004
Recorded	April – June 2004
Studio	Three Crows (Los Angeles)
Genre	Alternative rock[1] southern rock[2] garage rock revival[3]
Length	35:01
Label	RCA
Producer	Ethan Johns Angelo Petraglia
Kings of Leon chronology
Youth & Young Manhood (2003) Aha Shake Heartbreak (2004) Day Old Belgian Blues (2006)
Singles from Aha Shake Heartbreak
"The Bucket" Released: October 25, 2004 "Four Kicks" Released: January 10, 2005 "King of the Rodeo" Released: April 11, 2005
Alternate cover
North American and Australian editions

"The Bucket", "Four Kicks" and "King of the Rodeo" were released as singles in the UK.

Recording

Like its predecessor, Aha Shake Heartbreak was recorded with producer Ethan Johns at his Three Crows Studio in Los Angeles using The Beatles' old Abbey Road mixing desk.

Title and artwork

The title of the album comes from the third track, "Taper Jean Girl."

There were two different covers for the album: the original UK/Ireland version of the album featured a white orchid on a black background, whereas the later U.S. version featured a different kind of orchid on a white background. The releases of the album with a white orchid on the cover contain bonus track "Where Nobody Knows." On compact disc, both versions of the artwork include a picture of the band as children hidden underneath the plastic tray that holds the disc.

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	74/100[4]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[5]
Blender	[6]
Entertainment Weekly	B[7]
The Guardian	[8]
NME	8/10[9]
Pitchfork	4.9/10[10]
Q	[11]
Rolling Stone	[12]
Spin	B[13]
The Village Voice	B+[14]

At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 74, based on 31 reviews, which indicates it received "generally favorable reviews".^[15] Rolling Stone listed it as the 39th best album of its decade,^[16] and it was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.^[17]

The band's popularity spiked in Australia during the weeks of September 22 and 29, 2008, when all four of their studio albums were in the top 50 on the charts. At that point, Aha Shake Heartbreak reached at its highest position yet, number 25, and attained Platinum sales. It was certified 2× Platinum in Australia on January 12, 2009.

The album has sold more than 910,000 copies worldwide.^{[citation needed]}

Track listing

All songs written by Kings of Leon (Caleb Followill, Nathan Followill, Jared Followill, Matthew Followill) unless otherwise noted.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Slow Night, So Long"		3:53
2.	"King of the Rodeo"		2:25
3.	"Taper Jean Girl"		3:05
4.	"Pistol of Fire"	Caleb Followill, Nathan Followill, Angelo Petraglia	2:20
5.	"Milk"		4:00
6.	"The Bucket"		2:55
7.	"Soft"	Caleb Followill, Nathan Followill, Angelo Petraglia	2:59
8.	"Razz"		2:14
9.	"Day Old Blues"		3:33
10.	"Four Kicks"		2:08
11.	"Velvet Snow"		2:10
12.	"Rememo"		3:19
Total length:			35:01

European CD edition bonus track

No.	Title	Length
13.	"Where Nobody Knows"	2:24

• "Slow Night, So Long" contains an unlisted hidden track, titled "Too Good to Tango" (1:14), within the track's total run time.

Singles

• "The Bucket"
  • Released: October 25, 2004
  • Chart positions:
    #16 (UK Singles Chart)
    #23 (US Modern Rock)
    #32 (Irish Singles Chart)
• "Four Kicks"
  • Released: January 10, 2005
  • Chart positions:
    #24 (UK Singles Chart)
    #28 (Irish Singles Chart)
• "King of the Rodeo"
  • Released: April 11, 2005
  • Chart positions: #41 (UK Singles Chart)

Personnel

Kings of Leon

• Caleb Followill – vocals, rhythm guitar (credited as "pipes")
• Nathan Followill – drums (credited as "skins"), backing vocals
• Jared Followill – bass (credited as "slaps"), backing vocals (4,6)
• Matthew Followill – lead guitar (credited as "licks")
• Ethan Johns – piano ("Slow Night, So Long"), keyboards ("Milk")

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (2004–2009) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[18] 25 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[19] 87 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[20] 79 French Albums (SNEP)[21] 95 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[22] 39 Irish Albums (IRMA)[23] 3 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[24] 29 Scottish Albums (OCC)[25] 5 UK Albums (OCC)[26] 3 US Billboard 200[27] 55

Year-end charts Chart (2004) Position UK Albums (OCC)[28] 91 Chart (2005) Position UK Albums (OCC)[29] 153 Chart (2008) Position Australian Albums (ARIA)[30] 81 UK Albums (OCC)[31] 174 Chart (2009) Position Australian Albums (ARIA)[32] 99 UK Albums (OCC)[33] 143 Certifications Certifications for "Aha Shake Heartbreak" Region Certification Certified units/sales Australia (ARIA)[34] 2× Platinum 140,000^ Ireland (IRMA)[35] 2× Platinum 30,000^ New Zealand (RMNZ)[36] Gold 7,500^ United Kingdom (BPI)[37] 2× Platinum 600,000^ ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.