Time for another music review,
because that is what we do here on the CD Odyssey. This next one I would call ‘new
music’ but the kids might say is ‘so last year’. Perspective is everything.
Disc 694 is…. Mechanical Bull
Artist: Kings of
Leon
Year of Release: 2013
What’s up with the Cover? I think this is
supposed to represent a neon sign over a honky tonk to let passersby know there
is a mechanical bull on the premises. Like a hotel advertises free WiFi or a
porn shop boasts that they also feature a peep show. Generally a big neon sign
promoting any of these things is an indication you should just keep walking.
How I Came To Know It: Every now and then I try to put
a CD in Sheila’s stocking. This is one
from Christmas 2013. I know Sheila likes Kings of Leon but I’m not a big fan,
so that way I knew it was for her, not me. As is often the case, she thought it
was OK but it didn’t blow her away. She loves music but doesn’t have the drive
to own all of it like I do.
How It Stacks Up: We only have two Kings of Leon albums; this one and
2003’s “Youth and Young Manhood.” Of the two, I prefer “Mechanical Bull.”
Rating: 3 stars
I didn’t love my previous exposure to Kings of Leon
(2003’s “Youth and Young Manhood”) and one song into “Mechanical Bull” I
thought I was in for more of the same.
The song was “Supersoaker”
which is exactly the kind of directionless overproduced rock fare that make
modern FM radio so unlistenable for me. This is a song that tries way too hard
to be liked, like when an awkward person puts on a loud outfit to be noticed at
a party, but then fidgets awkwardly all night. If you’re going to go loud, don’t
fidget. That goes for music as well.
My concerns were quickly dispelled with the next
song, “Rock City,” which has a southern fried, drugged out feeling driven by simple and laid back rock
grooves. This song feels like a day where the main character never quite gets around to having a shower, because that day is just
too full of gritty adventure. I’m not sure what it is entirely about, but it has some nice little lyrical nuggets including:
“I was running through the desert
I was looking for drugs
And I was search for a woman who
was willing to love.”
Despite the appearance of an “Oh my my” that is far too close to Tom Petty’s identical utterance
in “Last Dance with Mary Jane” the
song retains its originality.
Speaking of Tom Petty, it is clear the Kings of Leon
are influenced by him. Lead singer Caleb Followill’s vocals have the same
strangled beauty that Petty’s possess, although likely with a bit more range.
Hey, Tom’s getting older so there’s no shame in it.
Cross this Heartbreaker rock with phrasing that owes
a lot to recent Pearl Jam and a healthy dose of Decemberist indie song
construction and you’ve got the Kings of Leon. With these influences my biggest
surprise is that I don’t like them more.
There is lots to like on “Mechanical Bull.” In
addition to “Rock City” there is the
gorgeous mid-tempo ballad “Beautiful War”;
a pretty love song with a slow build that reminded me of U2 in their more
honest moments.
“Temple”
has both an eighties guitar sound and a radio friendly structure that should
have me hating it, but that somehow works. Again, the vocals make a huge
difference. Here Caleb (since the whole band is composed of Followills first
names are easier) shows he can climb high into falsetto and never lose
emotional connection to the song. Also, it is a song about getting punched in
the dome! I think.
I know getting punched in the dome is a meat-head
expression, but it is also a guilty pleasure of mine (the expression, not literally
getting punched). In fact, here is a picture of me having climbed to the top of
the Duomo in Florence punching the dome…in the dome! Note I have adopted the requisite
meat-headed expression for such activity.
But I digress…
Back to the album, which isn’t all roses. There are
many songs where their propensity to sound like things that came before slips from
‘new blend’ into feeling derivative. This includes “Don’t Matter” which sounds like bad Pearl Jam and “Wait for Me” which I can’t specifically
place, but sounds like every other bad song on the radio these days
“Family Tree”
is fun, playing with a bass-line that I suspect is a deliberate homage to Sly
& the Family Stone’s “Thank You
(Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)”. It adds a nice and unexpected funk to this
indie/funk/post-grunge thing these guys have going on.
The album ends with the morose but touching “On the Chin” that sets just the right
mood as the album winds down at a tasteful 11 songs and 42 minutes. Proof that
modern records don’t have to all be 14-16 songs long.
This record didn’t blow me away but it was a
pleasant surprise, and I have a feeling it will age well in coming years. I’ll certainly
be playing it a lot more than I used to. A bit of a gift for me after all, but
I swear it was an accident.
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