2008 Woodie Awards
A Few Things You Should Know About Some New Music
William Hines
Issue date: 3/16/05 Section: Valley Life
Kings Of Leon - Aha Shake Heartbreak - RCA
The Mars Volta - Frances the Mute - Universal
Laziness would cause me to call Kings of Leon a southern, more hick version of the Strokes, but since they are such a good band - and their new album, "Aha Shake Heartbreak" is so worth checking out - I should elaborate.
The Kings (Caleb, Nathan, Jared and Matthew Followill, three brothers and a first cousin) found fame and fortune with their 2003 debut album, "Youth and Young Manhood." With their radio-ready sound and Calvin Klein-good looks, they went from being a backwoods preacher's sons to hanging out with the likes of Kate Moss and other top-shelf, jet-set celebrity groupies.
According to their bio, the experiences they wrote about on the first album were "about 30 percent truth and 70 percent wishful thinking," whereas on the new album it was about "90 percent truth and 10 percent wishful thinking - there's still that extra 10 percent." There are songs about relations with under-aged women ("Slow Night, So Long"), and erectile dysfunction (the up-tempo rocker "Soft").
The band is a tight little thing; Jared and Nathan keep the bass and the drums together in a quirky groove while Mathew plays fuzzy melodies and chords accompanied by Caleb's Iggy Pop-meets-Cat Stevens vocal style. The songs "Pistol of Fire" and "Razz" showcase the band deep in their groove, while "Milk" and "Rememo" show a softer, more delicate side. All of the instruments were played live without any overdubs, and it was recorded through the same mixing desk used on The Beatles' "Abbey Road."
At the other end of the new release spectrum is "Frances the Mute," the much-anticipated follow up to the Mars Volta's debut album, "Deloused in the Comatorium."
The excitement started to build a few months ago when the first single, "The Widow" started getting airplay. An amazing ballad reminiscent of Led Zeppelin's "Since I've Been Loving You," it features Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers on trumpet and is about the band's deceased soundman Jeremy Ward, who died of a drug overdose months before the first album was released. Unfortunately, "The Widow" is as close to their first album as the second one gets.
The Mars Volta - Frances the Mute - Universal
Laziness would cause me to call Kings of Leon a southern, more hick version of the Strokes, but since they are such a good band - and their new album, "Aha Shake Heartbreak" is so worth checking out - I should elaborate.
The Kings (Caleb, Nathan, Jared and Matthew Followill, three brothers and a first cousin) found fame and fortune with their 2003 debut album, "Youth and Young Manhood." With their radio-ready sound and Calvin Klein-good looks, they went from being a backwoods preacher's sons to hanging out with the likes of Kate Moss and other top-shelf, jet-set celebrity groupies.
According to their bio, the experiences they wrote about on the first album were "about 30 percent truth and 70 percent wishful thinking," whereas on the new album it was about "90 percent truth and 10 percent wishful thinking - there's still that extra 10 percent." There are songs about relations with under-aged women ("Slow Night, So Long"), and erectile dysfunction (the up-tempo rocker "Soft").
The band is a tight little thing; Jared and Nathan keep the bass and the drums together in a quirky groove while Mathew plays fuzzy melodies and chords accompanied by Caleb's Iggy Pop-meets-Cat Stevens vocal style. The songs "Pistol of Fire" and "Razz" showcase the band deep in their groove, while "Milk" and "Rememo" show a softer, more delicate side. All of the instruments were played live without any overdubs, and it was recorded through the same mixing desk used on The Beatles' "Abbey Road."
At the other end of the new release spectrum is "Frances the Mute," the much-anticipated follow up to the Mars Volta's debut album, "Deloused in the Comatorium."
The excitement started to build a few months ago when the first single, "The Widow" started getting airplay. An amazing ballad reminiscent of Led Zeppelin's "Since I've Been Loving You," it features Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers on trumpet and is about the band's deceased soundman Jeremy Ward, who died of a drug overdose months before the first album was released. Unfortunately, "The Widow" is as close to their first album as the second one gets.
