Kings of Leon Album Reviews

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Youth & Young Manhood (2003)
Aha Shake Heartbreak (2004)

Youth & Young Manhood (2003)

8

Red Morning Light / Happy Alone / Wasted Time / Joe's Head / Trani / California Waiting / Spiral Staircase / Molly's Chambers / Genius / Dusty / Holy Roller Novocaine

Since I'm a whore just like the rest, I've decided to add my two cents to the hype after all, and I can be brief about it: if you proclaim this debut to be the best one of the past two decades, you're an idiot. If you think that joining the hipper than thou backlash-gang and proclaiming this album to be a lame rip-off, is cool, you're an idiot as well. Of course Kings of Leon is a band that's readymade for mass consumption, and of course Youth and Young Manhood is an album that's gritty enough to suggest authenticity and accessible enough to appeal to the fearless adventurers out there who think that Live/Dave Matthews Band/Hootie & the Blowfish represent in best modern rock from the North-American continent, but there's more to this album. Well, it's Ethan Johns who produced most of it and though you can hardly accuse him of working with cutting edge artists (Counting Crows, John Hiatt, Stevie Nicks, anyone?), he can smell a worthwhile act from a distance (Phil Cody!). As for the music: when they play the 'Southern ballad'-card, like in "Trani" and "Dusty," the band comes dangerously close to a deadly bore, but fortunately, there's only two of those and 9 examples of what they do best, and that is rock out. Combining the swagger of the Stones with the boogie stomp of Molly Hatchet (who used to be good at that early on, really!) with an occasional ferociousness that wouldn't have been possible without that disease called "punk" (they even remind me of the New York Dolls here and there), they churn out a batch of songs that are, simply put, very convincing, certainly given their age, as opener "Red Morning Light" immediately sets a hard-rocking tone they manage to maintain throughout the entire album. Although vocalist Caleb's vocals sound as if they're sponsored by Jim Beam and Camel, his raw rasp still manages to hit the right notes with an "I couldn't care less"-attitude to them, but when he gets to the chorus, you realize he knows damn well what he's doing. It's classic in your face-rock, with a modern twitch and done very well. Though not all the songs are exactly impressive – "Genius" being somewhat of an average rocker – there are several cuts that are just so damn good: "Wasted Time," for instance is what you'd get if Tom Petty had had the opportunity to record a tune with '70's AC/DC, while the latter also pops up during the incendiary "Spiral Staircase," a furious turbo-charged boogie featuring the best Bon Scott-imitation I've EVER heard (apart from that dude in Rose Tattoo, maybe). And there's more from where that came from, as the concise "Molly's Chambers" is an irresistible slice of swaggering garage (just check out the way he sings "Just another giiiiiiirl, that wants to rule the woooooorld" – classic moment alert!) and "California Waiting" sounds like the Fountains of Wayne with a beer breath and Zeppelin records instead of Badfinger albums. When the album came out, many people called them the "Southern Strokes," and for once, such an easy claim does make sense, as tracks like "Happy Alone" (that tight, nearly mechanical beat) and "Joe's Head" wouldn't even have existed without the New York band, but that needn't be a problem, or does it? Imagine the songs and albums you wouldn't have heard if future musicians had never bought those Stones albums in the first place… So, I don't really care, as these songs have more than enough character to make up for that. I mean, you're not gonna deny that the chorus to "Happy Alone" causes more excitement than Coldplay's entire oeuvre, right? Oh, I'm sure that I'll eventually get tired of the meticulously reproduced vibe of the album and the slight smell of opportunism that occasionally seeps from the seams, but at the moment

1. I couldn't care less
2. I've got a runny nose, anyway

It's a bit regrettable they copped four songs from their first EP (lazy hillbillies) - despite the fact two or three of those are highlights on the album - and I'm also not convinced yet they'll ever come up with an equally satisfying successor, but as it is now, I'm willing to admit that about two thirds of Youth & Young Manhood would graduate cum laude from the School of Rock, if I were the man in charge there.

Aha Shake Heartbreak (2004)

7

Slow Night, So Long / King of the Rodeo / Taper Jean Girl / Pistol of Fire / Milk / The Bucket / Soft / Razz / Day Old Blues / Four Kicks / Velvet Snow / Re-memo

Because they were in danger of being buried beneath an oppressive amount of press/hype following the release of Youth & Young Manhood, the Kings of Leon replied with the smartest response: strike while the iron's still hot. Aha Shake Heartbreak was supposed to represent the next stage of the trip towards maturity, the album on which the band would offer a glimpse of the real deal, but I presume they put all of that between brackets. What the sophomore album does offer is a slightly more individual approach, which does not imply it manages to avoid ye good ole risks of yore: too many songs refuse to transcend mediocrity and while the band has become tighter as a unit, they still have to rely on a vocalist whose peculiar style too often becomes a gimmick and whose lyrics are usually bewildering. As in what the…? If anything, the Kings of Leon come off as the type of band that shouldn't tamper too much with a successful formula. Whenever they try to come up with these little experiments throughout Aha Shake Heartbreak, they fall flat, as on the opening track, a paean to the rock & roll lifestyle, but also a song that relies on a frustratingly skimpy structure and ceaseless switching between a tight jangle and percussion-driven salvos. To top it off, it inexplicably ends with a pointless calypso-styled coda only the most dedicated of fans can make sense of. Of course they're just kids and of course I should give them a break, but also the other three tracks that avoid the straightforward rock & roll-direction falter: Caleb's incoherent moaning on the dragging "Milk" is cringe-inducing and his lyrics - "She saw my comb over / her hourglass body / she had problems with drinking milk / and being school tardy / she'll loan you her toothbrush / she'll bartend your party" - are some of the most puzzling since Beefheart's "Veteran's Day Poppy" hit the airwaves.

Likewise, the yodeling on "Day Old Blues" was a very, very bad idea and ending an album with the unremarkable "Re-memo" could also be filed under "adolescent sins." However, when they rock, which they do during every song that clocks in around the three minute mark (or sooner), they'll often make you forget these mistakes. It's still hard not to regard them as a countrified Strokes spearheaded by a foulmouthing little drunk, as songs like "Taper Jean Girl," "Soft" and "Velvet Snow" are driven by a similar new wave-inspired twin guitar attack, tight rhythm and no nonsense-structure; but these songs charge ahead with a reassured youthful energy and bag of memorable melodies that's hard to resist. A song like single "The Bucket," for instance, manages to get by on that summer-vibe, despite the fact that those descending vocal lines during the verses can be pretty annoying if you're focusing on them (don't). They're at their best, however, when they disband the metropolitan cool altogether and lay down some dirty grooves: the rednecky hardrock of "Pistol of Fire" doesn't stray very far from the "metronomic rock"-mode, but it chugs along with the best material on their debut. Likewise, "Razz" struts along with a "can't touch me"-attitude that's credible, while "Four Kicks" has crunchy guitars, a sexy swagger and a rare freak-out moment towards the end that proves they can get loose if they try hard enough. The thing is though, that they shouldn't try too hard to come up with songs that diversify their albums if they don't work. The album has its share of excellent songs (though nothing for the ages), but it lacks the consistency of the superior Youth & Young Manhood. Of course, this needn't imply they've found the downward spiral that takes them back to obscurity in a few years, but I hope they'll remember to cut the crap when it rears its ugly head again. I demand a hardcore punk album. (Feb. 8th, 2005)