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Imagine there was a machine that could somehow convert words to melodies, and someone had transcribed the entire dictionary over to music. Now imagine you turned to the page with the word “drift” on it. Under the definition, you would find a recording of Kings of Leon’s newest album, Come Around Sundown. As the word “drift” implies, the styles in this album do not fall into a straight line, but rather wander unpredictably.

Back in January, Kings of Leon scored themselves Record of the Year, Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and Best Rock Song for “Use Somebody” at the 2010 Grammy awards. This holy trinity of musical accomplishment may seem like a lot to live up to, but the band is accustomed to acclaim – they met with huge success in Britain before ever achieving recognition here – and did not let the glow of achievement weaken their technical prowess. Come Around Sundown meets and surpasses the challenge.

The Kings slam down their trump card almost right away with the energetic “Radioactive.” The song’s jiving, loosely tooled guitar riffs hearken back to the effortless spirit of Aha Shake Heartbreak. Along with the poppy sounds of the synthesizer, the groove slowly builds on you until you feel compelled to, if not jump out of your chair and dance, at least tap your foot and emphatically nod your head to the beat.

The first track, ironically deemed “The End” launches straight into the Kings of Leon we know and love. The way the symphony-like guitar chorus joins with Anthony Followill’s sonorous howl places the listener in a venue that is a mixture between a rock arena and Orchestra Hall. A wailing concord of instruments at the end grind on the sensibilities in a way that is rough, yet refreshing.

As the album journeys on, new and different tones present themselves. “The Face” takes the tempo down a bit, combining clear-cut guitar melody lines with Followill’s jarring and emotional voice, while “Mary” unequivocally fulfills the prediction the Kings made about a “darker” and “grungier” sound to their new album. The near-malicious “Pyro” catapults you into a slow-moving, confusing cosmos of pictures, babies, drunkards and fire “burning down the mountain,” as Anthony presents his desire to be loved without obligation. At the same time, friendly strumming and tambourine hits encase “Beach Side” in an almost pop-like frame that blossoms with visions of sun, sand and fun.

“Look at us over here,” the band seems to say, “Oh, now we’re over here doing this,” all the while keeping up the rock drive/country drive that characterizes their sound so well. At first, you’re confused. But somewhere around the hunky-dory fiddle riff in “Back Down South” it hits you: They switched it up. Those mischievous Tennessee brothers gathered up their guitar chortles, drum patterns and vocal idiosyncrasies and funneled them into an entirely new shape, and they did it while you weren’t looking. You realize that these tracks cannot be pigeonholed into a single genre, but rather situate themselves at varying distances along the country/rock spectrum. A holistic sound alone is praise-worthy. That Kings of Leon achieve it with such subtlety and ease earns Come Around Sundown extra accolades.

“It’s got songs that are beachy, it’s got songs that are a little more like our Youth and Young Manhood days,” Drummer Nathan Followill told MTV.com, adding that Sundown might also have a “darker” feel.

While we may never return to the truly nitty gritty days of “Spiral Staircase” or “Molly’s Chambers” off Youth and Young Manhood or the eerie, yet calming utter silences like those in “Milk” from Aha Shake Heartbreak, the most recent piece of artistry from Kings of Leon presents a dynamic cross-section of the band’s many musical styles. Sundown is all at once a reprise of musical expression, a journey into the band’s own core and a celebration of a career adorned with critical praise and public adoration. It will leave fans raving, and hoping against hope that there’s a Sunrise up ahead.

4 out of 5 stars.