MARC CHOQUETTE
Perspectives Editor
Family musical acts are nowhere to be found these days. The most popular ones that come to mind are long gone: for pop, The Jackson Five and the Osmonds, and for rock music, perhaps the brothers Gallagher of Oasis, who made great music but were not exactly good examples of brotherly love.
The Kings of Leon have brought the family act to rock ‘n’ roll, and they brought it hard, with enough eardrum blowing, fast-paced southern indie rock anthems to get listeners to grow a mullet, buy some fishing rods and a pickup truck, roll the windows down and pump it at top volume.
The brothers Followill (Nathan, Caleb and Jared) and cousin Matthew pride themselves on their southern heritage and much of their lyrical content and musical tendencies reflect it. The brothers spent much of their childhood in a purple 1988 Oldsmobile, tagging along with their father, who was a traveling preacher in the United Pentecostal Church.
Needless to say, a childhood spent traveling from the buckle to the tip of the Bible Belt instilled a unique outlook on life in the Kings, a life none of them expected they would ever return to, this time sans the 1988 Oldsmobile.
Their first two albums, “Youth & Young Manhood” and “Aha Shake Heartbreak,” quickly established them as staples of a newer, more indie, yet uniquely southern-fried sound not well represented since Lynrd Skynrd. Much of the brothers’ background involved country and religious choir roots, but adding blues and an edgy classic rock vibe to their sound turned heads among listeners and other artists alike.
“Because of the Times” is the third effort from The Kings of Leon, who tone down their formerly fast-paced, distorted, in-your-face garage rock for something a bit more reserved and more focused, showing a band that has matured musically after two years on the road supporting their last effort.
The album starts with “Knocked Up,” beginning with soft, railroad beat from Nathan and spacey, atmospheric guitar harmonics from Matthew, before the full might of the band opens up the heavens in the chorus a theme reminiscent in this album over the previous, where many songs would either keep a down-tempo, mellow feel, or be off-the-wall crazy from start to finish.
The Followills blend these stylings in many songs to change their direction, with much more focus on song structure, background effects and periods of soft, careful movement combined with spurts of frustration and fantastic guitarwork from Matthew and lead-singer Caleb.
However, the real standout in this album is 20-year-old Jared on bass, who is featured more predominantly than in previous efforts, providing much of the hook for songs like “On Call” and the Wolfmother-esque “Black Thumbnail,” which features a two minute solo/rock out period that lights speakers on fire.
“Because of the Times” ensures the Kings of Leon will be sticking around for a while by riding the revival of southern garage rock. The group will play at the Coachella festival on April 28 in Indio, Calif.
04-05-2007