Preacher's sons who grew up on the road, laying down the holy-roller boogie in churches across the South, Kings of Leon come by their scuffed, scruffy sound honestly. They rolled out their southern-tinged Strokes sound on their very solid debut EP. 

 But Youth and Young Manhood was where these little red roosters, who ranged in age from 16 to 23, really kicked down the door, already sounding like old-school greasers who've been around long enough to know how to savor a moment.  

 On Aha Shake Heartbreak, the grown-up Kings sound as if they've been listening to a lot of British art punk. The fuzzed-up garage rock is still evident on tracks like "Four Kicks" and the dark, swaggering "Taper Jean Girl." 

 The band got bigger, thicker production on Because of the Times, where they continue exploring minimalist art rock on the Pixies-like "Charmer" but employ a more muscular guitar sound on pop-rockers like "True Love Way."  

 The Kings dove headlong into mainstream arena rock on Only by the Night, which begins with electronic bleeps on "Closer" and some feedback and noise on "Crawl" but turns fully anthemic on the pop hit "Use Somebody."