Kings of the Dirty South
This is not a posting, as may be expected, about the lords of hip-hop in the southern states, staking the claim for rap supremacy, but rather a story of three brothers and a cousin who make some of the best rollicking rock'n'roll out there at the moment. I am talking of course about familial 4-piece the Kings of Leon who, to my mind, have released three of the most consistently great slices of guitar heavy rock of the past decade, and with more than a little funk along the way. They fit into that curious list of artists from the US who have found more favour over here in the UK than in their homeland and are fast on their way to becoming a band to sell out stadia and headline the festival circuit. And more curious is the fact that this has been achieved relatively underneath the radar of many people's consciousness, a reputation built on strong album sales and storming live shows as opposed to chart or mainstream success.
They are one of those bands that, as a fan, you feel as though you should be the only person who knows and loves them and then you try to get tickets for a gig and find they sold out in 12 seconds. Then when you finally pay a tout an exorbitant amount to get into the gig it is rammed with a melee of hero-worshipping loons having the socks rocked right off their feet. That the group have a sexual charisma that bristles from every note they play is undoubtedly a factor in their success, and they are one of the few heavy-sounding bands I know of who arguably have more female fans than male. But this does not make them a lightweight proposition by any means, and their reputation hangs on their riff-heavy but sophisticated music, tinged with elements of funk, country, Americana, and that magic quality from the US southern states. Kind of like the Colonel's secret recipe, but used to flavour the highest-grade corn-fed organic chicken!
And musically they are tight, with a family bond that was forged in part by their experience as youngsters being carted around those same southern states by their itinerant preacher father, living at close quarters and soaking up the musical influences almost by osmosis. If you don't yet know the Kings then I urge you to check out each of their three studio albums to date. The bubble has yet to burst and each collection seems to add another layer of maturity and complexity of musicianship to their craft. Not everybody's cup of tea I am sure, but if you like your tea laced with pre-coital tension and a whiskey chaser, to a soundtrack of the greatest southern road trip you have never driven, then this may just be what you have been waiting for.
They are one of those bands that, as a fan, you feel as though you should be the only person who knows and loves them and then you try to get tickets for a gig and find they sold out in 12 seconds. Then when you finally pay a tout an exorbitant amount to get into the gig it is rammed with a melee of hero-worshipping loons having the socks rocked right off their feet. That the group have a sexual charisma that bristles from every note they play is undoubtedly a factor in their success, and they are one of the few heavy-sounding bands I know of who arguably have more female fans than male. But this does not make them a lightweight proposition by any means, and their reputation hangs on their riff-heavy but sophisticated music, tinged with elements of funk, country, Americana, and that magic quality from the US southern states. Kind of like the Colonel's secret recipe, but used to flavour the highest-grade corn-fed organic chicken!
And musically they are tight, with a family bond that was forged in part by their experience as youngsters being carted around those same southern states by their itinerant preacher father, living at close quarters and soaking up the musical influences almost by osmosis. If you don't yet know the Kings then I urge you to check out each of their three studio albums to date. The bubble has yet to burst and each collection seems to add another layer of maturity and complexity of musicianship to their craft. Not everybody's cup of tea I am sure, but if you like your tea laced with pre-coital tension and a whiskey chaser, to a soundtrack of the greatest southern road trip you have never driven, then this may just be what you have been waiting for.
posted by Twelve Bar at 4:24 PM
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