As a whole, When You See Yourself is a welcome new addition to the band’s discography, and cements their status as one of the top rock bands of the last fifteen years.
At best, When You See Yourself is the finest collection Kings Of Leon have put out since their peak years, and at worst a collection of good tunes to listen to this spring and never hear again.
A record of life-worn wisdom, hard times and hope. How very 2021.
It seems that self- examination has taken them to bold, new places.
When You See Yourself is a welcoming return to form for Kings of Leon. It’s a nostalgia sucker punch for those in the right time, in the right place.
The riffin' and ruminatin' rockers are back with an eighth album that finds them joyful, energised and curious, the sound of growing happier in your own skin.
This is an at times muscular, at other times breezy collection of songs, recorded with care, removing bombast and occasionally returning to the rough live sound of their early days.
The Southern garage rockers’ eighth album is subtle and surprising.
The album is at its best when there’s a certain intimacy, when the listener feels as though they’re right there in the studio.
This tellingly titled LP feels like the first step in a viable third chapter fora band that has rediscovered its identity.
The songs don't linger as much as the vibe does, but that spacious, sumptuous feel is appealing as When You See Yourself marches steadily to its conclusion.
The band’s eighth album is full of songs that are catchy, but unremarkable.
An album that, though not without its fillers, feels like they’re having more genuine fun than they’ve had in years.
Without those crowds around, this powerful rock machine is idling.
Perhaps, in a live setting, the songs will settle and find their place, but while sometimes interesting and occasionally engaging, When You See Yourself remains an annoyingly uneven listen.
Caleb’s lyrics are as inscrutable as ever, while the Followills appear to be working a little harder to relocate their heart and create new textures, rather than staying on rock-star autopilot.
When You See Yourself doesn’t approach the creative zenith of those critically-adored early albums and nor will it top the sales of their mid-career commercial peak, but it’s refreshing to hear the band block out outside influences and just make music for the fun of it.
It’s pleasantly – if forgettably – soporific. The sort of family motorway album that tired parents can hum along to without waking the kids in the back.
With the band’s musicianship in peak form, it’s Caleb’s songwriting that limits the album’s impact.
Introspection needn’t be dull, no matter where you are in life. But if Kings Of Leon want to make music that doesn’t rely on sweat-drenched stadium energy or straggly-haired Americana, they at least need something to say.
On their eighth album, the Followill brothers desperately cling to a sound that has stopped working, trying to write songs that soar but capable only of ones that wallow.
Increasingly, they feel like a band with the doors to entry closed, ageing out with an audience no longer looking for something new. That’s okay for them, but they’re capable of so much more.
After a partly successful reboot with 2016’s Walls, they attempt to build on that for their eighth album by using the same producer, Markus Dravs, but there’s only so much he can do when the raw material he’s working with so often falls short.
There’s nothing inherently bad about When You See Yourself, but it feels like you could merge it with any releases from their last decade of activity and construct an album that has some heart to it.
kings of leon’s newest effort ‘when you see yourself’ is an enthralling triumph. while it doesn’t seem like much on the outside, it’s actually a whole lot of new ideas and concepts from the band.
i believe kings of leon’s discography throughout the 2010s has been criminally underrated. it features some great projects including ‘mechanical bull’, ‘come around sundown’, and ‘WALLS’. all of these records are high quality ... read more
Let's be honest, Supermarket is basically the title track to this album.
Because this album is the equivalent of going on a trip to the supermarket. It's not a bad experience, and I can get myself a very nice Dare Vanilla Latte Espresso milk drink for $3.50. But there's absolutely no reason to remember going to the supermarket on March the 5th, 2021, even if I did get my Vanilla Latte Espresso milk drink because there's absolutely no reason to remember your trip to something as mundane as a ... read more
I feel like this album is the straight-up definition of mid, to the point pretty much all of the YouTube critics basically just said 'eh' to it without discussing many ups and downs. It's a massive downgrade to WALLS, which I think is extremely underrated and one of their best albums.
When You See Yourself was led off with a double lead single, The Bandit and 100,000 People. I think The Bandit has some decent riffs and the verses are good but the chorus is disappointingly bland and completely ... read more
1 | When You See Yourself, Are You Far Away 5:47 | 82 |
2 | The Bandit 4:10 | 83 |
3 | 100,000 People 5:44 | 79 |
4 | Stormy Weather 3:42 | 78 |
5 | A Wave 5:23 | 76 |
6 | Golden Restless Age 4:33 | 80 |
7 | Time in Disguise 4:45 | 80 |
8 | Supermarket 4:58 | 61 |
9 | Claire & Eddie 4:52 | 66 |
10 | Echoing 3:37 | 70 |
11 | Fairytale 3:55 | 66 |
/ | Esquire |