release date: Jul. 22, 2003
format: cd (HMD27)
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,06]
producer: Ethan Johns
label: Handmedown Records / RCA Records - nationality: USA
Track highlights: 1. "Red Morning Light" - 2. "Happy Alone" - 3. "Wasted Time"
Studio album debut by Kings of Leon released on Handmedown and RCA. The genre is indie rock and garage rock revival in a special southern rock style pointing towards early Rolling Stones mixed with AC/DC, which also takes it to the harder end of the style.
I think, I first heard of the band when the songs "Ragoo" and "On Call" from their third album Because of the Times (2007) got some airplay on the national radio station DR P3 back in 2007, but I wasn't really hooked on their music until a year later with the album Only by the Night (2008) and especially tracks like "Sex on Fire" and "Revelry", which were played extensively on nationwide radio. After acquiring these two albums, I then got their latest Come Around Sundown (2010), which really made me change my mind about this band, as imho was the band's best. This subsequently made me check out their first two albums, as I was also curious about how they had initiated their career.
I have nothing against the various styles they manage to incorporate into their music on their later albums, but this first one is really far from that - and also far from my taste. It shows the band's early garage rock revival mix (which is style I enjoy) with southern rock, country rock, and hard rock ['ouch'] , and I can only say that the mixture leaves me rather unimpressed. Yes, they prove themselves as skilled instrumentalists, but that's also the only thing that shines through here.
Not recommended.
[ allmusic.com, Blender 3 / 5, Q Magazine, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]
