Thursday, January 10, 2008

Kings Of Leon

Although I'd heard of them several months ago, I'd never taken the effort to review the band Kings of Leon until a recent trip to the library changed all that. I stopped by the ol' BPL a few Fridays ago looking for some new Christmas music to inspire me and to listen to on my long commutes, and while there I glanced quickly at the pop and rock sections to see if anything new had crept in. I saw this album, Because of the Times, and decided on a whim to pick it up and give it a whirl. Interestingly enough, I also picked up Bruce Springsteen's Devils And Dust album along with several others, and since they weren't holiday tunes I tucked them in my closet for later review. One Saturday (after renewing my library loan!), I decided to throw a few on the changer while I was cleaning my house (yes, I'm a bachelor, so I have to do it myself until I can afford one of them French Maids...), just to see how everything sounded. Anyway, this is all relevant because of what happened next. As the changer moved through some of the more familiar artists, such as Rihanna, Jimmy Eat World, and others, this album came on while I was in the shower. Literally, while I was in the shower. Here's where it gets crazy. I t-totally thought it was Springsteen. I thought to myself, "Damn, self, The Boss is back with a vengeance! This ain't your father's Bruce Springsteen!" I proceeded to tell a few friends how cool the Devils and Dust album was, and that I was quite impressed with Brucie's reemergence to popularity, and wondered how I'd missed such a terrific collection of music. This went on for days, until I opened the cover looking for this shag-nasty Charmer song, only to find it wasn't there. (Digression: I DID find an old-man fellatio song, though...um, weird. Really weird.) Anyway, once I realized my error I went to my changer, popped out the cd's and looked just to make sure. Sure 'nuf, 'twas KOL instead of BS. Talk about a bunch BS! I've been retracing my steps and tellin' my buds that I erred, and that although Boss man is still cool, these Kings of Leon dudes are DY-no-MITE! Their music and sound is fresh and familiar at the same time, sorta like the southern rock of yore with a modern, current vibe. Also of interest to me is the background of the band. According to this article the boys that make up 3/4 of the band were the sons of a traveling Pentecostal preacher, and incorporated into their music is a bit of the effect church services have had on them. This seems to be especially the case on Charmer.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the recommendation. I've been listening to them off and on today. I definitely picked up a Skynyrd vibe. Glad someone confirmed that.

jwfrog said...

You're welcome. I've had the cd in my car for over a week now...even playing it instead of Sirius! A little Skynard, perhaps a little Zeppelin, too. Every great once in a while I catch a faint hint of Audio A similarities, on a few of the vocal movements, that is. Have you heard any of their other stuff?

Unknown said...

It must be in the stars for me to listen to them because hours after reading your post I saw them on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. They're pretty good. The lead singer is a bit of a strange fellow, but he's got talent.

jwfrog said...

All of us talented souls are strange, Rachel. Oh, did I include myself in that? Strange. Very strange...
What in the world is getting into you party animals? Up late watching Leno? Get TiVo for cryin' out loud! Hey, thanks for commentin'...we have too much fun over here.