Kings of Leon - When You See Yourself (March 5, 2021) • Page 2

Oh come on - it’s for mid 30s white boys. Clearly. Lol

 

Sounds like old dudes

 

Gotta say. KOL is a really good rock band. Some super solid songs. Also the production on this is really cool.

 

Exactly! Us old dudes need someone to relate to, also!

 

In alll honesty - this is a pretty niche comparison I know .... but, from 05-08 , that stretch of 3 albums from Aha shake > because of the times > only by the Night is just fantastic rock music.

I would put that up against any 3 album run from that same era by any other band, and would be curious to hear any other contenders. Especially given it was 3 albums in 4 years.

 

I really do think that out of their entire discography, WALLS is the only misstep. Even that one has a few songs that are decent, but that's about it. The next weakest for me would probably be Come Around Sundown, but that one has some seriously killer songs. They were just running on empty a little too much to put out an entire amazing album by that point.

 

Great points and agreed. I remember jamming hard to Mechanical Bull and thinking that one was their return to form, but now I think this one is. Love the production.

I was stanning so hard for KoL in 2010 that Come Around Sundown prob sounds better to me than it does to most people - but you’re right there are a few just undeniable tracks on that one.

 

as an early 30s white boy, I disagree! especially if you enjoy the band in the past, it's a completely dogshit version of that

 

I tried listening to this for a second time and gave up midway. Jeez - A Wave, Golden Restless Age and Time in Disguise is such a boring 15 minutes stretch.

 

Haha that’s my favorite stretch. But it really could have been my mood today. I like the vibe of this album. It’s like melancholy but groovy but I definitely think it’s more of a place and time album than one I’ll return to often if that makes sense.

 

Also the guitar in “Golden Restless Age” sounds so much like the Tigers Jaw cover of “Gypsy”. Weird comparison but I think of it every time I hear it lol

 

I can see why people don’t like this album, but for some reason it’s hitting all the right spots. I love it

 

You could certainly fault the band for not taking enough risks at this point, but I guess I'm just a fan of their sound—the angular guitar tones, layerd, interlocking rhythms, thoughtful songwriting. There's something to be said for having "a sound" and being really good at it.

 

they had a “sound” though, across multiple albums. they abandoned it for commercial appeal. that’s fine. i’m glad they got money now. that doesn’t mean people aren’t allowed to critique that decision and whatever “sound” they supposedly have now

 

Enjoyed it more as I listened today.

 

I finally got a chance to listen to this album all the way through. It's definitely an improvement over WALLS in that it's not actively bad, but it did feel very long and very low energy. After a while of listening to this album, I have to admit I was shocked when another slow, ballad-y type song came up next again. It was a "another slow one right now?? really?!?" type of feeling. Supermarket-Claire & Eddy was the stretch that broke me. They were both alright songs I suppose in a vacuum, but at that point in a long slow album I couldn't do it. One or preferably both of those tracks needed to have been shit kickers to keep this thing going.

I will say that a lot of the songs had cool grooves and musical flourishes that got into my head, and Jared continues to be kind of an unsung MVP of this band. Maybe I just need to give this album some more listens and spend some quality time with it. Initial impression was that this album kinda wastes Nathan. Even WALLS had some standout percussion / drum things going on, like the drumsticks sound on Muchacho for example. I think this is the first KOL album where I couldn't tell you Nathan is even drumming at all, could be literally anyone who could keep a beat.

 

Just gotta say the NFT thing they're doing makes them absolute fuckin dorks

 

Honestly just taking out Claire & Eddie makes this album flow much better to me. I actually really enjoy the album on the whole, but Claire & Eddie does very little for me.

 

This is where I'm at too - had to get rid of Claire & Eddie. I like the song more than you and actually think it's kinda cool, but it's just way too low energy to come right after Supermarket at that point in the album. Drags the whole thing down way too much.

Also, the closer is kind of a letdown. It's an alright song I suppose, but these guys used to always have awesome closing tracks. It's a bummer that they've done two albums in a row now with lackluster closers.

 

I've been following Leons for eons (pun intended)...with this new stuff, they never fail to deliver. Great band.

 

Spun this and Mechanical Bull this morning while cleaning.

I think these two are my favorite KOL albums.

 

New album/tour announcement seems imminent

 

Sounds about right. Especially considering their Instagram post on the 31st.

 

I really hope they turn it around with this one. Their last album was their most forgettable.