Review: Marcus King Gets His Arena Rock Wings With 'Young Blood'

Ever heard the phrase “what we need is some young blood?” Well, Marcus King has titled his new album Young Blood and he proves the adage correct as the 26 year old guitarist is injecting some much needed young blood into the kind of big, loud, and unapologetically swaggering rock and roll that dominated the '70s airwaves.

For Young Blood, Marcus King once again worked with producer and Easy Eye Sound label head Dan Auerbach (The Black Keys). Together, the pair tapped into the arena-ready sound of power trios like Jimi Hendrix Experience, Free, and the group King most resembles instrumentally, Tres Hombres era ZZ Top. Listening to Young Blood, there's a definite nod to Billy Gibbons' guitar tone, enough that you can almost picture King throwing down a cover of “Waitin' for the Bus” to close out a show.

But dig deeper into Young Blood and you find an album that is surprisingly deep lyrically. Behind the massive guitars and thundering bass are tales of addiction and broken relationships. This is exemplified in album highlight “Lie Lie Lie.” “I took her in and she took me for a joyride. I let her win and I don't even know why.” King croons. “I was singing and she was smoking on a pipe dream. She was living but it wasn't in reality.” It's also the album's most satisfying instrumental song, with King's guitar punctuating the theme with a staccato leather that is impossible not to tap your toes to at home. It's guaranteed to be a new concert favorite, the kind you pump your arms and bang your head to.

“It's Too Late,” which kicks off Young Blood is another album high point. While musically still within the realm of Southern rock bravado, King also pulls off some blow-off lines worthy of Bob Dylan's “Don't Think Twice, It's Alright.” While pining for what was (“It's too late and I hate to see you go”) he also puts his toxic lover aside, noting “maybe that could be the reason all this happened, and I hope it never happens again.”

For those looking for a moment of respite, you have to wait until the end of the album and “Blues Worse Than I Ever Had.” Starting out as a pure Delta blues dirge, even this finds its arena rock stride, transforming into a power ballad by song's end.

For the critics who say guitar rock is dead, Marcus King would like a word. Young Blood, even with its lyrical depth, is at its core a love letter to guitar rock, written not in ink but in the tone of King's '59 Les Paul. In recent years, the Americana label has increasingly taken in the refugees from the Southern rock tradition and King, a Best Americana Album Grammy nominee for his last album El Dorado, has set himself up as that wing of Americana's heir apparent. Long live the king.