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Kings of Leon – When You See Yourself

  • Stephen Ackroyd
  • March 3, 2021

Label: RCA Records
Released: 5th March 2021


In their earliest days, Kings of Leon were a ramshackle band of brothers (and their cousin) who always felt thrillingly close to coming off the tracks. For a while, they rattled around with joyous abandon in the name of good fun. It was glorious.

And then, at some point, things got serious. Not that serious is bad – serious is fine, someone has to be a grown-up – but the more mature Kings of Leon were a different band. It made them one of the biggest groups on the planet, a mainstay of the radio airwaves and a household name, but they lost something too.

Because while serious may not always be a reasonable criticism, safe most certainly is. ‘When You See Yourself’ feels like a record that’s very self-aware of its own position. Worried about colouring outside the lines, instead it feels to keep well within Kings of Leon’s latter-day boundaries at all times – often to the point of a lack of definition. ‘The Bandit’, for example, is fine – it’s a decent enough Kings of Leon song and all – but what that means in terms of continued relevance in an era of teenage prodigies and genreless expression is debatable at best. 

Kings of Leon will continue to be a big deal, but who they’re speaking to is important too. 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.

Stephen Ackroyd
2.0 rating
2/5
Total Score
Related Topics
  • Kings of Leon
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