The Kings of Leon grew up with their Evangelical preacher father spreading the Gospel of Christ on the road between Oklahoma and Arkansas.
Now brothers Nathan, Jared, Caleb and first cousin Matthew Followill, are spreading their own Gospel of Rock and Roll to the masses, and the first chapter is their full-length debut release “Youth and Young Manhood.”
The Kings cite the Rolling Stones as a major influence and channel the Stones in the same way as other new rock revival acts The Strokes and The Hives.
The Kings of Leon are garage rockers, too, but with a definite Southern tone to their sound.
Unlike the almost clean sound of the New Yorker Strokes, The Kings of Leon give their tunes some character with greasy guitar licks in the vein of Skynyrd or even Mountain.
Lead singer Caleb’s rough and raspy drawl gives the impression this is what Lou Reed would sound like after gargling with gravel.
The lyrics are nothing groundbreaking or particularly deep, but are nonetheless clever because of the combination of upbeat indie-rock with dark lyrics. For instance, the song “Joe’s Head,” one of the best on the disc, is about putting a bullet in Joe’s Head and then gloating about it.
Other highlights of the disc are “Spiral Staircase,” a pop romp with a psychedelic and surf rock feeling, and “Red Morning Light,” a number with more than a healthy dose of cowbell.
Also worth mentioning is “Molly’s Chambers,” the essential boy-loses-girl ballad and a chance for Matthew Followill to show off his chops on lead guitar.
But while there several good tracks there are also some that need a ready finger on the skip button.
The slow and painfully long “Trani,” with only about two minutes of lyrics stretched for five, has the effect of taking barbiturates and a chaser of Nyquil. Similarly slow, “Dusty” is essentially an old blues song, but without emotion or character.
If you like the rock revival going on, this disc certainly needs to be in your collection.
But then again I probably don’t need to tell you that because Rolling Stone has recognized it as one of the top ten of the year.
While it’s good, I wouldn’t go that far. It’s fun, it’s accessible, but not monumental in any way.
Caleb Followill’s voice only goes so far and more than a couple listens makes this reviewer envy Joe with the bullet in his head.
