Playing catch-up

Ignorant of the release of their new album Only By The Night on September 23, I took Kings of Leon's third disc for a spin down along the southern coast this past weekend and fell in love all over again. Because of the Times may be the bands's most polished effort to date, but it's certainly no worse for it. The Wikipedia entry for the group cites their influences as "[a] religious upbringing and Jack Daniels," and that somehow makes sense only after listening. Yes, Kings is made up of three brothers and their cousin of the same surname, and yes, the band takes it's moniker from the Followill brothers' Pentacostal preacher father, but that's not the interesting part. As with any good artist, the true interest lies in the sounds themselves - in this case, a southern-fried quartet quietly making the best rock music in America. Give it a try.

key tracks: Knocked Up, True Love Way, Fans, Arizona