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Album Review
by SashaS
7-7-2003
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| Kings Of Leon: the new rocking kids |
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Kings Of Leon: 'Youth And Young Manhood'
(Handmedownrecords/BMG)
Kings Of Leon reactivate bearded rock
In the privacy of your piracy, Big Brother is trying to halt your activity and may even sue you if continue to practice this devilish Internet activity that will eventually kill the record industry. It’s not the first time we, the buying public, are being accused of undermining the good capitalist trade of exploiting talent. Although they manage it well on their own, believe me, and are in the process of committing a very public suicide.
Paul Weller recently commented that if The Jam had been a new band now they would be dropped because their first two albums had hardly sold any quantities. The same story with Bruce Springsteen, it took his third, ‘Born To Run’, to see him being enthroned as ‘The Boss’. Kate Bush was funded for three years to perfect her craft before releasing her killer of a debut LP! But now, your maiden long-player sells million plus or you are out. Nurturing a talent, my tuner!
We can’t guess what King Of Leon future may be in today’s clime but their disc ‘Youth And Young Manhood’ pushes their case well to top of the contenders’ file. Although it is marginally on the garage-rock-revival tip, it is also fair bit removed. The boys look and sound like a throwback to some more exciting time when good-time rocking was a norm rather than a treasure: sporting beards like the perennial rockers of the 1970s, downdress accordingly (a grunge level?) and play rock that has feelgood stencilled all over it.
In a strange way, although they sound nothing like them, they recall Credence Clearwater Revival in their no-nonsense, melodic approach to boogie-rocking, not unlike ZZ Top but with a more punk bite. Short, sharp and strict upbeat mode, ‘Red Morning Light’, ‘Happy Alone’ and ‘Wasted Time’ lift one’s spirit above the travails of everyday bull. Played very confidently and skilfully, the songs take in variety of elements from metallistic riffs, dynamic drumming and penchance for guitar melodies that can induce illusions of a ride on a magic carpet.
But the three Tennessee bros and a cousin know how to slow it down and ‘Tranny’ (albeit a tad long at 5 mins) is great blues example, full of passion, build-ups and guitars that scream ‘solo’!; ‘O Dusty’ contains some voodoo in its grooves. ‘California Waiting’ is an incredible pop-rock hit-in-waiting that goes quite mental towards its final minute; ‘Spiral Staircase’ commences with a Bob Dylan-esque intro to segue into a countrified rocker of the tightest kind, simply delicious!
More ‘southerness’ is echoed in ‘Genius’ with ‘Holly Roller Novocaine’ taking you on a short excursion to the cosmic corner known as ‘Talihina Sky’ (bonus/hidden track).
Kings Of Leon offer a music lover/fan’s perspective of Rock’n’Roll; theirs is a celebration that is brazenly retro – although, compared to The Thrills, this is post-modern – but magnificent, nevertheless. This rock quartet makes a band like The Datsuns sound amateurish!
8/10
SashaS
7-7-2003
Kings of Leon album ‘Youth And Young Manhood’ is released 07 July 2003 on Handmedownrecords/BMG
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