Amid wild-eyed rants and spacey jams, Kings of Leon played it straight enough Tuesday at the Vogue to offer a glimpse of the Southern garage rockers as mainstream hit makers.

 

Uncomplicated love song "On Call," from current album "Because of the Times," sounded like the tune to do the job. Vocalist Caleb Followill -- frequently a poster boy for poor enunciation -- sang clearly when pledging to be wherever his lover needed him.

 

"On Call" has been a modest chart success in Europe, but it has yet to make an impact in the United States.

 

While hit singles likely won't make or break Kings of Leon, it would be nice for the Tennessee musicians to be rewarded for work they've done across three solid albums.

 

Success on par with Cheap Trick in the 1970s, for instance, doesn't seem unreasonable. Being known as the "hillbilly Strokes" isn't much of a title, though, when the Strokes' career appears to be on life support.

 

 

A family act, Kings of Leon consists of vocalist-guitarist Followill, his brother Jared on bass, his brother Nathan on drums and their cousin Matthew Followill on guitar.

 

Jared, Nathan and Matthew shared the spotlight on "Times" track "My Party" -- an angular, industrial composition suggestive of post-punk band Fugazi. Jared's bass supplied the angles, and Nathan's drumming provided the industry.

 

The song's soul arrived through a squealing, sustained one-note solo from Matthew.

 

Between songs, Caleb rarely said a word but he made a fashion statement through an open, black and possibly leather shirt reminiscent of gear Elvis Presley wore during his 1968 comeback special.

 

Caleb's enunciation within songs was a pleasant surprise, even if it did facilitate a painfully strained audience sing-along during "The Bucket's" chorus of "18, balding, star."

 

Caleb himself screeched through "Charmer," a "Times" selection that pays tribute to the Pixies' "Debaser" and falls just short of plagiarizing the pre-grunge classic.

 

In terms of timing, Tuesday's audience was fortunate to catch Kings of Leon before the band's best album, 2004's "Aha Shake Heartbreak," gets too far in the rearview mirror.

 

The quirky and loose nature of "Heartbreak" is worth keeping around, and the band seems to realize this.

 

Tuesday's show featured seven songs from the album, including a rendition of "Milk" highlighting Caleb's left-field storytelling: "She has problems with drinking milk and being school tardy."

 

"Soft," meanwhile, zipped from whimsy to frenzy as the musicians charted four different but simultaneous paths.

 

Two of the concert's first three song were plucked from "Heartbreak," with "Taper Jean Girl" and "King of the Rodeo" proving the Followills are a dance band at heart. They may be hipsters, but they're also OK with letting the good times roll.