Holy Roller Novocaine
Holy Roller Novocaine is the debut EP by American rock band Kings of Leon, released on February 18, 2003. A re-release as a 10" red vinyl single was issued in April 2013 to celebrate Record Store Day.
| Holy Roller Novocaine | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| EP by | ||||
| Released | February 2003 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 15:01 | |||
| Label | RCA | |||
| Producer | ||||
| Kings of Leon chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Pitchfork | 7.1/10[2] |
| Rolling Stone | [3] |
Background
Holy Roller Novocaine was released a few months before Kings of Leon's debut Youth & Young Manhood hit the shelves, and it garnered significant attention from music critics. The song "Molly's Chambers" appeared in a Volkswagen Jetta commercial, and the song "Holy Roller Novocaine" is used at the end of the episode "Playing Tight" of the third season of The Shield. The songs range from bluesy sounds to organ-infused ballads. This way of playing would be further explored with their five later albums.
Holy Roller Novocaine contains alternate takes of songs found on the follow-up Youth & Young Manhood. The version of "Wasted Time" is different from the same track off Youth & Young Manhood, with the EP version having a more tense riff and different vocal stylings. "California Waiting" is also different. The version of "California Waiting" found on the Holy Roller Novocaine EP was recorded in a rush to finish the record. The band initially didn't like the outcome, so they wrote a new version, which is found on Youth and Young Manhood. However, on Kings of Leon's VH1 Storytellers performance, Caleb Followill stated before playing California Waiting that "We kind of sabotaged it on our album, and tried to play it really punk rock. It was better on the EP I think."[4] "Wicker Chair" is not found on any later major releases, besides a few singles and the Japanese import of Youth and Young Manhood.
Track listing
All songs written by Caleb Followill, Nathan Followill and Angelo Petraglia.
- "Molly's Chambers" – 2:16
- "Wasted Time" – 2:47
- "California Waiting" – 3:28
- "Wicker Chair" – 3:08
- "Holy Roller Novocaine" – 4:01
Charts
| Chart (2003) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[5] | 100 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[6] | 53 |
References
- "Kings of Leon: Holy Roller Novocaine". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
- "Kings of Leon: Holy Roller Novocaine Album Review". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on March 8, 2007. Retrieved February 25, 2007.
- "Kings Of Leon: Holy Roller Novocaine : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 1, 2007. Retrieved June 22, 2006.
- ""California Waiting (VH1 Storytellers)" by Kings Of Leon | Show Performance". VH1.com. 2011-05-18. Retrieved 2013-12-10.
- "The ARIA Report: Issue 691 (Week Commencing 19 May 2003)" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. p. 4. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
- "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 22, 2021.