Follower of the Followills

Sometimes I will vehemently dislike a debuting band only to fall madly at its feet later on. Mind you I even dared not to like Pearl Jam - eternal Zeus in my Olympus of bands - when their first single Alive came out. But this was only a momentary lapse and I promptly recovered after crossing paths with Even Flow.

It took me a lot longer to warm up to the Kings of Leon and their southern moods...

I initially dismissed this "3 brothers + 1 cousin" act as over hyped and was not impressed with them opening for The Strokes in 2003 (they sounded cold and monocordic). But when that singular second album "Aha Shake Heartbreak" came out I was conquered. First by "The Bucket", an addictive-as-chocolate song about being a young rock star ("fresh off the plane in my fuzzy rush") and then by tracks as irresistible as their names, "Milk" and "Soft".

Now with even more singular - and arguably less accessible - 3rd album "Because of the Times" my adoration for the Followill family seems to stand the test of time. KoL's uniqueness lies not only in sounding fresh and retro at the same time, but in singer Caleb Followill's deliciously ugly voice, a perfect conductor for their whimsical-but-no-nonsense lyrics.

Here are examples of KoL's paradoxical voice and lyrics - both taken from reggae infused new track Ragoo:

"Either way you caught me whilst a lying
You caught me whilst a lying
You caught me with my pants down"

Well, they sure caught me.