Kings Of Leon, Youth And Young Manhood
A confident debut that sounds like it's already several albums in
Although the 2004 debut by the Followill brothers (and one cousin) was dogged by comparisons to the Strokes, that has more to do with when it was released than what it sounds like. Drenched in blues and garage rock, not to mention a healthy dose of the Allmans, Youth and Young Manhood blows hot where their big-city contemporaries stay cool.
The sons of an intinerant Southern preacher, Nathan, Caleb and Jared Followill clearly have rambling in their blood, too much to settle on any one style for long. (Cousin Matthew rounds out the quartet on lead guitar.) "Wasted Time" is a roadhouse rave-up, all dusty floors and racing drums, while "Red Morning Light" evokes the proto-punk garage of the Sonics or the Flamin 'Groovies. With its swooping bass and bell-like guitar licks, "Joe's Head" is a kissin 'cousin to the Allman Brothers '"Melissa," but the likeness is fond rather than slavish.
Kings of Leon have shifted course so many times that their first album serves more as a self-contained unit than an introduction to the very different sounds of "Because of the Times" and "Only by the Night." On their confident and fleshed-out debut, they already sound like they're several albums in.
