This morning I've been listening to the new album from Kings of Leon, in preparation for reviewing "Come Around Sundown" for Monday.

I also wrote a little bit about Tom Waits this morning. And Mike Doughty, bless his heart, came up in the mix at the bar last night and Third Eye Blind was nearly vetoed from a '90s radio rock-themed road mixtape my friends and I blasted this past weekend.

I still feel a little bad about how much I didn't like Norah Jones' contribution to Belle & Sebastian, reviewed earlier this week.

What do all these artists have in common? Jacquire King, who ha engineered, mixed and/or produced all of the above.

Like Brian Deck, he's worked with Modest Mouse and Josh Ritter, too, but now he's got his sites set on Cold War Kids. (Still no word back from the company men if Deck is helping out on Iron & Wine.)

And these Kids could use a good -- if not totally new -- mix.

[More after the jump...]

The Downtown-signed band has announced its third studio album, "Mine Is Yours," due Jan. 25. King has helmed the 11-song set and I'm beyond curious what he and the foursome got up to.

I like the singles from CWK's debut "Cowards & Robbers" immensely -- "Hang Me Up to Dry" and "Hospital Beds" still put a spring in my step and "We Used to Vacation" is as good an opening track as any I can think of. Follow-up "Loyalty to Loyalty" felt flat, with singer Nathan Willett just shouting at me in those couple notes he knows he nails.

So what does King's contribution potentially mean? He strikes me as a producer who cleans up the rough edges of bands who are ready to break mainstream -- while still maintaining a rock hard-line. I'm eager to hear what the first single has in store that others perhaps didn't have before it.

Where the band doesn't need a change is its exhilarating live show, several of which they've plotted for fall. Expect previews of the new material, and report back in.