Kings of Leon - Because of the Times Album Review

You can't beat their backstory- 3 brothers, raised in the south, growing up with a Evangelical minister/father that took them on the big tent revival circuit as young, impressionable children. Add in a cousin sharing the same last name, equal parts the Strokes and Lynyrd Skynyrd and Randy Newman (trust me, I'll explain later) and you've got the Kings of Leon.

KOL have achieved relatively little recognition in spite of their songwriting talents in the U.S. On the other side of the "pond", the Followill's (3 brothers+1 cousin= same last name) have really exploded. On their first album, Youth & Young Manhood, it sounded like the Kings ripped a chapter out of America's songbook and rewrote a contemporary version of it. With their faces shrouded in ragged, and rugged, beards, the KOL brought an air of mystery and edginess to their music.

A couple of years ago they released their sophomore follow-up, this time you could tell they sanded around the edges a bit and really started to develop their sound. Flash forward to 2007 and a whole new treat is on our plate- their most recent offering Because of the Times.

The first thing to strike the listener is the maturity they've gained. No longer are they talking about running around with groupies, drinking and doing drugs (don't get me wrong, its still there) exclusively. "Knocked Up" is a claim to the mother of "his" baby, and no father's going to get in the way of it. Sonically, they really stretch themselves with this cut.

The standout track, for me, is "Ragoo." If this were the 19th century and it was the Civil War, KOL would proudly be sporting their grey coats, throwing blows against the likes of Fall Out Boy and company. They are the south for pop rock. Their subtle twang hints at Charlie Daniels, but really is just a guitar acting as counterpoint for Caleb's haunting voice.

Here's where the Randy Newman reference comes in. I was talking with my roommate about this very band last night, and he couldn't get over the fact that Caleb (lead vox) sounded kind of like Randy Newman. The carry-over between the two is the honesty and truth that is revealed in their imperfections. The write about their imperfections, they imperfectly perform, and they imperfectly produce some of the freshest music in the barren landscape we call contemporary music.

Do yourself a favor and sample this album on imeem or visit their myspace for a few samples- you won't regret it.