“Young Lions” – Constantines
(Words/music: Constantines, available on Shine a Light, Sub Pop 2003)

Here’s an old favorite of mine.  I loved the Shine a Light album when it came out in 2003, and I still remember the first time I heard their self-titled debut on a small, impromptu road trip in college and being even more impressed with it.  I think the juxtaposition of these tuneful songs with the heavy instrumentation drew me in (as it frequently does).  Still, I haven’t listened to either of these albums in ages, nor have I checked out their follow-ups.  There’s no good reason for this – I don’t hold a grudge against the band for a bad show (I missed my best opportunity to see them, but that’s an entirely separate story), I don’t have any negative memories associated with the songs, and it’s still something that I enjoy (although not as much, since enthusiasm often wanes over time).  It was just one of those things where I eventually put the album down to listen to something different and never really made my way back to it.  We all have these old, forgotten favorites that slip out of our lives for a while, only to return when we least expect it.  In one way, it’s like reconnecting with an old friend and catching each other up on new happenings while recalling old times.  In another way, these personal relics work like a time capsule, letting us find something about our past selves and presenting the opportunity to see how we changed (or, in many cases, how we’re the same).

“Young Lions,” one of the few tracks from Shine a Light that will pop up on shuffle occasionally, begins with a low rumbling guitar and stomping drums that immediately beckon me back half a decade.  In many ways, this is what I loved in 2003 (and, to a lesser degree, today) – songs that obscured melodies behind explosions of distortion and volume.  That’s not to say that it’s devoid of melody, as what often happens when the volume knob eeks up toward double digits.  The melody is a bit sneakier and sneaks around different parts of the arrangement – not just in Bryan Webb’s gruff voice, but also in little guitar fills between lines.  It’s not as immediately tuneful as some of the other songs I’ve written about, but I find that these melodic bits stay with me, creeping in and out of my conscious thought the same way that it steps out of the fog of feedback only to submerge itself again moments later.  I’m drawn to songs like this for a few reasons.  First, there’s a visceral rush in loud, stomping songs, and like its lyrics, “Young Lions” stands posed as a beast at the foot of its kingdom waiting to strike.  This is probably the same reason I’m likely to skip this song when it comes up in shuffle; if I’m not in the mood to let my pulse jump a couple BPMs, I have no interest in hearing this song.  Additionally, the part of me that admires songcraft appreciates when a band combines raw power and melodic subtlety.  I can sit with my guitar amp turned all the way up, blast through a couple power chords, and work myself into a feverish sweat, but it takes skill to stitch it together with a melodic thread.  Just as Webb’s lyrics try to resolve the promise of the predator with its primal nature, songs that try to balance melody and bombast make me listen closer.  It also brings me back to those days where I felt the same heightened emotional intensity when, like the metaphorical lions in the song, I too stood at the foot of my kingdom looking for a place to leave my mark.

More on Constantines: Allmusic | Amazon MP3 | Emusic | Last.fm