2008 Woodie Awards
SectionsFive-star rock album highly recommended
Heather Jarvis
Issue date: 11/9/07 Section: Features
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Kings of Leon
"Because of the Times"
I am utterly and justifiably in love with three brothers. And their first cousin.
I have recently discovered this Nash-ville-based quartet of relatives who call themselves Kings of Leon.
After I listened to their CD, I felt like something had been missing from my CD player its whole life.
Now, my CD player is whole. Even my computer is happier that these guys are sitting in its iTunes.
Out of their three albums, "Because of the Times" is their newest and most diverse album yet, and the whole thing is amazing. I can't find a single thing not to like about it. It's modern, original rock twisted and muddy like the Southern back-roads the Followill boys grew up cruising with their father.
Every single song on the album is comparable with each other, each one trying to outdo the next, and there is not a single song to skip through.
The band members of Kings of Leon are the sons of a Pentecostal minister and grew up living in his car with him while traveling around the South on his mission.
While they have, in a way, taken up the same life of their daddy, their lyrics expose their side of the mission, with songs about sinning and girls and some things that radical Christians wouldn't approve of. A perfect lyric to sum it all up: "People call us renegades 'cause we like livin' crazy."
"Because of the Times" is named after an annual preacher's conference the boys attended growing up, and according to the boys, they decided to take the limitations off themselves for this newest album. They reveled in the joys of their newfound musical freedom and came out with a doozy.
One of the CD's most notable attributes is the voice of Caleb Followill, a throaty, animal howl that could be mistaken for the booze-soaked yell of a crazed preacher. His voice is raw and full, and usually unhindered by studio effects.
"Knocked up" is a riveting seven-minute opening song about a guy taking his pregnant lover away to have a baby, no matter what Momma says. The song goes from quiet and sweet to loud and hearty.
"Because of the Times"
I am utterly and justifiably in love with three brothers. And their first cousin.
I have recently discovered this Nash-ville-based quartet of relatives who call themselves Kings of Leon.
After I listened to their CD, I felt like something had been missing from my CD player its whole life.
Now, my CD player is whole. Even my computer is happier that these guys are sitting in its iTunes.
Out of their three albums, "Because of the Times" is their newest and most diverse album yet, and the whole thing is amazing. I can't find a single thing not to like about it. It's modern, original rock twisted and muddy like the Southern back-roads the Followill boys grew up cruising with their father.
Every single song on the album is comparable with each other, each one trying to outdo the next, and there is not a single song to skip through.
The band members of Kings of Leon are the sons of a Pentecostal minister and grew up living in his car with him while traveling around the South on his mission.
While they have, in a way, taken up the same life of their daddy, their lyrics expose their side of the mission, with songs about sinning and girls and some things that radical Christians wouldn't approve of. A perfect lyric to sum it all up: "People call us renegades 'cause we like livin' crazy."
"Because of the Times" is named after an annual preacher's conference the boys attended growing up, and according to the boys, they decided to take the limitations off themselves for this newest album. They reveled in the joys of their newfound musical freedom and came out with a doozy.
One of the CD's most notable attributes is the voice of Caleb Followill, a throaty, animal howl that could be mistaken for the booze-soaked yell of a crazed preacher. His voice is raw and full, and usually unhindered by studio effects.
"Knocked up" is a riveting seven-minute opening song about a guy taking his pregnant lover away to have a baby, no matter what Momma says. The song goes from quiet and sweet to loud and hearty.
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