"because of the times" by kings of leon

there is a lot of mythology concerning the origins of the followill clan. a brief biography of the brothers and cousin reads like great southern fiction, complete with pentacostal tent meetings, scandal, and prodigal sons. at one point the boys declared that they were discouraged from listening to "secular" music, and the first record of "the devil's music" they ever listened to was their own. after hearing their first record "youth and young manhood" however, it became obvious that somebody had snuck the preacher's kids "sticky fingers", "damn the torpedos", and "rust never sleeps." it was like the scene in "close encounters of the third kind," when the scientists discovered the missing airplains in the mexican desert. the kings of leon seemed to have stepped out of a time warp, as primitive artists, with a chip on their shoulders and something to prove.

their latest effort, "because of the times" is a nice step in the maturation process. it sounds as if they have been exposed to a few new influences, captured a modern sensibility, and yet decided that they still hadn't heard anything better than the stones, neil, petty, and themselves. the record is darker than previous releases, and as crazy as it sounds, a little more aggressive and contemplative at the same time. lyrically, they have sharpened their "less is more" approach to storytelling. caleb followill tends to dwell on carefully chosen lines and throw away gratuitous notions. the boys have grown up in many ways, and the journey continues.

kings of leon website