From Farm Boys to Boy Band

Daniel Dylan Wray finds the evolution of Kings of Leon plain offensive

I’m not ashamed to admit it, I used to fucking love Kings of Leon, and pretty much everyone I knew did, even if they won’t admit that now. I was seventeen when their debut album came out, and it being the first year I could drive, it was an integral part of that summer and subsequently my adolescence. It felt fresh, raw, edgy and damn right good; granted, this was to the ears of a naïve seventeen year old, but, this accompanied by their mysterious background and downright weirdness (like a horror show Brady Bunch crawling out from their barn and being brought up on rock ’n’ roll, moonshine and little else) meant they had everything that was enticing about a young new band to a young new man. I mean, their album was called ‘Youth & Young Manhood’!

Now fast forward a few years – past albums two and three that, regardless of personal taste, undeniably showed genuine progression, musically – and then, fuck me, what went wrong? As their popularity and bank accounts have grown, so too it would seem has their sense of self-importance and self-worth (highlighted in one single night when Caleb moaned that he was cold to a Reading Festival crowd who weren’t cheering loud enough). This band used to be weird. Genuinely weird! I remember watching the NME awards years ago as they grunted their way through interviews looking either completely unwilling, unable to speak, or just really stoned. They seemed to not care about such things; publicity, it seemed, was a downside to being in a band – a necessary evil that allowed them to do what they loved for a living. Then things went so sour. The wretched ‘Sex on Fire’ was the catalyst, transforming them from parameter, semi-commercial guitar band to fully-fledged radio-friendly unit shifters.

They went from stoic, morbid and frigid performers to being in a video wearing vests and standing in front of flames as they pouted for close-ups.

It seems that with this meteoric rise came the arrival of their ego’s and boy did they come big, throwing any sense of ‘what’s best musically?’ out the window and replacing it with ‘how can we become even bigger?’. Their popularity continues to soar and their musical integrity continues to plummet, perhaps making it not too surprising that the band have been adopted by the Oasis crowd now that the Gallagher’s aren’t talking.

Most damning, though, is the band’s refusal to take a break; to go a year without releasing a record; to step out of the spotlight and practice the old absence makes the heart grow fonder trick, even if time can also make for a better album.

It’s as if they fear being instantly forgotten and no longer being considered current or relevant, or perhaps rich. The band’s new album is out this month, which means they will have been doing the album release/promo/touring shtick for maybe three years straight, and its hard to believe that the motive for that is creativity.

They’ll no doubt be back at all the summer’s festival’s again next year, being decidedly un-weird and dodging what they once were, which incidentally was an interesting, publically evasive and promising young band. The U2 comparisons suddenly become pertinent as a result. Remember the young Martin Hannett produced, post-punk U2? Me neither, but they did once exist, and as wholly believable rumours circulate that the other band members have had to try and intervene with Caleb’s personal music writing sessions now that he’s worked out if he writes the songs on the album by himself he gets all the royalties and money, you have to think that not even Bono is that ruthless.

A little article found in this months Loud and Quiet by Daniel Dylan Wray. A paper I have loved for a while, for many reasons. But this one just forefronted itself ahead of the others. This, a rant, I have had on many occasions, in varying states (quite often in a club, when Sex on Fire has come on in the small hours of the morning) and leads rather nicely into an issue I currently have.

A new found favourite artist has been dropped by his record label, the artist in question is Alan Pownall. The label, Mercury. It is a shame that within the music industry there only seems to be one focus. Money. As it was once sung, ‘money makes the world go round’ and whilst that is true, especially in these ever-tough financial times we appear to be sailing through. It saddens me that the main focus is no longer the music and is in fact just the money. Whether that’s the artists or just the record labels, I’m sure the line between becomes rather blurred in some places.

Alongside this fact, is one that in fact, talent has been over passed for shows for worthless individuals to showcase themselves to a majority who don’t actually have an interest in music, but in fact just regurgitate the crap that the mass-media force feeds them, believing that it is decent. Whilst this happens, there are real artists, with real talent and a passion for playing who are ignored because the people with the power to do something impressive, ignore the power they have to influence and inspire and instead decide that they won’t make enough money out of selling someone who actually has talent and therefore result in selling music with scantily clad individuals gyrating about to promote their ‘musical abilities’.

Of what little influence I have here on this blog, I would like to promote a few AWESOME bands, who have some real talent and have inspired me, there is a much longer list which would include the likes of the Beatles/Stones and Clapton. But here I would like to go for the lesser know awesome individuals who really deserve the airtime.

Jay Jay Pistolet - http://www.last.fm/music/Jay+Jay+Pistolet

The Mummers - http://www.last.fm/music/The+Mummers

Lissie - http://www.last.fm/music/Lissie

Diane Birch - http://www.last.fm/music/Diane+Birch

Delta Maid - http://www.last.fm/music/Delta+Maid

Kassidy - http://www.last.fm/music/Kassidy

Alan Pownall - http://www.last.fm/music/Alan+Pownall

Polly Scattergood - http://www.last.fm/music/Polly+Scattergood

Andy Clockwise - http://www.last.fm/music/Andy+Clockwise

And. Just for the record. The first album I got when I passed my test – Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not. Now there’s a driving album.

Catching a Tiger

This is ever so slightly in the wrong order, I am in the process of writing a blog on a visit to Somerset House to see the Martin Marigelia Exhibition and the Mystery Jets, but somehow this one appears to have taken precedent… however, I digress…

Last night, in a rather stupidly excited state, I headed to London town to see one of my new favourite musicians, Lissie at the ICA.

Having just arrived in London, we checked out the venue and whilst wandering past I saw her outside having a cigarette (well how else would she perfect the beautiful edge to her voice?!) and had to go and say hello. She was absolutely lovely and was very excited about playing the show. Bonus.

We entered the theatre, which was an intimate venue and suited the event perfectly.

The evening began with four boys and their four guitars. Looking like they had mistakenly fallen out of a time machine. A throwback from the seventies. They began to play. The sound so powerful and their harmonies so beautiful they easily rivalled the likes of The Fleet Foxes and Mumford and Sons.

Their music was so beautifully and passionately played that you could tell they won over the hearts of the crowd instantly.

The four boys in Kassidy (the name of this awesome band, by the way) fit so perfectly together in style, in sound and in passion. They appeared to be genuinely humbled by the appreciation of the audience, which is in itself humbling to witness.

It is not often that I will go straight home from a gig and download an EP of a band I have just seen without first finding out a little more about them. However, this is testament to just how amazing they were, if my iPhone battery was not such a fail, I would have downloaded it then and there (the joys of modern technology!) It is just as wonderful (although there is always something special about seeing a band live) and has captured the magic of this truly unique band.

My only criticisms, if I had to be picky, were the microphones were up slightly too high in my opinion, the sound of the EP is so perfect and they could have achieved just as awesome an atmosphere without the booming sound. Also it would be nice to see the boys with a drummer, however, that might ruin the aesthetic of the band.

In spite of me, being picky for the sake of it, it is blindly obvious these boys are seriously talented, with voices that were fabulously harmonic and glided through the room smoother than warm caramel. I eagerly anticipate the arrival of their album.

Kassidy

A few minutes later and out came a tiny framed, beautiful and vulnerable looking girl. Lissie. Then she started to sing. All thoughts of vulnerability were shot to pieces. The power in her voice is simply immense. With a power to melt even the coldest hearts, her beautiful lyrics, wonderful rifts and astounding voice were able to make you forget instantly where you were and be transported to another world.

Her sweet explanations of family history made you feel and understand her passion for her music even more and made you fall in love with the tracks that bit harder. And call me old fashioned, but its so refreshing to hear an artist who doesn’t use crass language throughout their music or show, someone who actually has a grasp of the English language and uses it to make spine tingling, beautiful music.

However, enough of me ranting, back to the music – Lissie has an amazing voice and a very talented set of musicians playing with her, who again all appeared very humbled by the effect they had on the audience. I know arrogance is supposed to stream in music, but it is nice to see that there are some genuine, level headed artists out there.

The encore came, far too quickly, and out came Lissie, with a very special friend. Ellie Goulding. After their collaboration at the Great Escape in Brighton earlier this year, it appeared they were set to perform together again. Much to the crowd’s delight. Not having really heard much of Ellie’s music, I was extremely impressed by her voice and she is clearly another talented girl. They sang Patty Griffin’s Making Pies, whilst Ellie played it was astoundingly beautiful. And finally time for the last song, a fabulous cover of Lionel Ritchie’s Hello. In Lissie’s true bluesy country style, which had the whole crowd singing along.

Lissie

Overall, it was an amazing, no frills evening that was absolutely as it should be – all about the music.

Two (three?) amazing groups, who I will most definitely make the effort to see in the future!