Youth & Young Manhood

Why do these fucks have 3 albums on this list?

Nothing super special, but its not bad.

Vocals are atrocious, but the music is SIGNIFICANTLY better than the crap served up on "Only By The Night". It's just basic southern rock, but it at least has some character.

2.5/5.0: Mixed

the instrumentals feel like they were trying to check the box on southern rock tropes and the vocalist phoned in the entire performance. pretty mediocre but way better than the last album i had from them(not that it took much).

quite good 70s Rock Cosplay Band

Hadn't heard this before. A bit different from other Kings of Leon I'm more familiar with.

Never gave them a fair shake, don't know why.

Better than Coldplay

Temu Lynyrd Skynyrd

This is my third Kings of Leon album on this list. Are they influential enough to warrant that? Idk.

Started off OK. I probably would've liked it if it was a single song, but the longer it continued, the more it sort of became a caricature of itself. By the end I felt like there was a joke somewhere that I wasn't getting. Quickly went from forgettable to off-putting.

Колись давно я дізнався про цей гурт з каналу ентер мьюзік, де розповідали саме про цей альбом. Але гаражний рок потім змінився на майже поп-музику (втім непогану), навіть на концерті був колись.

Не можу сказити що Kings of Leon для мене постарішали добре, якось я зовсім розлюбив їхню музику, що ранню, що пізню.

Hey this is pretty good fun you know. I really wasn’t into this scene as a kid, but I think these guys may have aged better than some of their contemporaries. The whole album is a consistent bop and much better than I thought it’d be. Musically it’s good. I particularly like the guitar work, which alternates between some nice acoustic work, to some upbeat twangy solo stuff, and down into that really grimy, thick sound. Underneath everything there’s some genuinely good grooves in there, and I routinely nodded my head along. I can’t understand a fucking thing he’s saying, but it kind of doesn’t register after a while. That kind of drawly, mumbly approach might grate elsewhere, but for some reason I’m ok with it here.

3.5 rounded down.

3/10

It was ok. Another album I would have no problem listening to if it was on, but no desire to seek out agian.

One of only 3 acts whose live set I have walked out of half way through (the other two being Foals and Taylor Swift), this was better than I expected it to be..
It must have been all down the tubes from here.

The guitar sounds good but them Mushmouth “sings” and I instinctively hit the skip button

Ugh. Seriously? One of the albums everyone NEEDS to hear before they die?

Youth & Young Manhood
I remember really liking this when it came out, right after the Strokes and White Stripes, with the same garage punk sensibility, but with a more bluesy, southern rock feel, which very much appealed to me back then.

Listening now, it definitely still has a very appealing energy and directness, and the Stonesy riffs and licks still carry some charm, but overall it feels like it's missing some weight and substance. Whether it’s because we know what they kind of developed into, but it does feel a little insubstantial, the style is more of a veneer that something more profound
Still there are some enjoyable songs if you don’t really think too much about it; Red Morning Light, Wasted Time, Joe’s Head (love the Allman Brothers guitars on this one), California Waiting, Molly’s Chambers, Dusty are all fun.

I think this falls right in the middle of the 3s - some fun riffs and songs, a nice bit of nostalgic fluff but a confection that isn't all that satisfying.
👑👑👑
Playlist submission: Wasted Time

this is about 10x more arresting than their later albums, but it's hard to imagine a lower bar. the whole garage rock revival scene does very little for me, and Caleb Followil's voice is awful as always, although he does put in a slightly more authentically emotive performance here compared to later albums. this album is probably only worth anything as a novelty: put it on to surprise people that don't know that once upon a time kings of leon was merely mediocre rather than awful