Music reviews
By Lara Hendrickson
Features Editor

Chris Knight-The Jealous Kind
Knight tells the story of losers, lovers and everything in between in his third album, The Jealous Kind. Knight hails from six miles out of Slaughter, Kentucky, a remote coal-mining town of 200 people where he was born, raised and still lives in a trailer there with his wife and children. Knight’s first album had him being compared to Neil Young, Steve Earl and a Nebraska-era Bruce Springsteen. Knight has had hits on CMT, yet his songs take a slightly brutally intense tone, with odd Christmas songs and songs that go beyond death. Obviously Knight takes on the attitude of labels not mattering as much as the power of an intense song. There truly is no label to put on this album.

The Format-Interventions and Lullabies
The Format’s album Interventions and Lullabies is a no-holds, rousing, pop-music conglomeration. Sam Means and Nate Ruess are the prolific heads of the group and neither is old enough to even rent a car (both “scraping their early 20s”). The album is a hum-along, diverse Elektra mix that mixes Beatlesque melodies with 80’s pop. The Arizona duo calls their “anti-glam” music “Desert-Pop,” and are produced by Walt Vincent, the mind behind Liz Phair and Pete Yorn. The band is perfectly summed up in their choice of their name: While “Format” is actually their name in an ironic twist (they hope to not be a “formatted” band), they tell roadies that they were visiting a friend named Matt in the hospital and found a card that said “For Matt.” Cute, if it were true.

Kings of Leon-Youth and Youth Manhood
Brothers Nathan, Caleb and Jared Follohill received their musical education in the backseat of a minivan. Their father, a Pentecostal minister, encouraged the two to perform the likes of The Rolling Stones when their mother was not around. The family comes from Memphis, where the brothers became interested in R&B and the rock-and-roll greats. In the UK the album sold 34,500 copies in the first week of release, debuting on the mainstream UK chart at No. 5. The Los Angeles Times said Youth and Youth Manhood is “urgent, loose urban blues reminiscent of ‘Exile’-era Stones.” The band has promised to move up in the United States, and it is definitely an album worth listening to.

Lucky Boys Confusion-Commitment
Chicago’s Lucky Boys Confusion’s sophomore album takes an unapologetic and surprisingly melodic look at life. Lucky Boys Confusion members said their first album, Throwing The Game, was not as “mature” as their latest album, because the band has “learned to trust their instincts more.” The unique songwriting melds the bands genre-crossing album. The band believes in an admirable grassroots approach of constant touring and low-budget living. For the band that sold CDs out of their backpacks and slept on friends’ floors as they toured the Midwest, Lucky Boys Confusion album Commitment seems like an apt name. The infectious, unblinking and honest album commands die-hard support — perhaps more than they are worth.

April Sixth-Maniposa Avenue
A fusion on guitar chords, lyrics and explosive rhythm help make April Sixth a distinct sound ... distinct not being necessarily “good” or “bad.” April Sixth is composed of Robert Geiser on lead guitar, Brian Marquez on rhythm guitar, Joey Caligiuri on bass guitar, Evan Kilbourne on drums and Snaps on lead vocals. Snaps. Sort of like “Madonna” or “Prince,” though not as catchy as either. The band is supposed to be a Christian-based rock band, and the lyrics address the spiritual quest for wholeness. The band calls the likes of Nirvana, Led Zeppelin, Rage Against the Machine and Swiftfoot among their influences, but they seem to fall a little short.