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Mar 9, 2021When 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. It's an album that their fanbase will revel in.
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Mar 5, 2021At 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. That’s a win-win, no matter how you look at it.
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Mar 5, 2021We’re unlikely to be totally rid of guitars on a Kings Of Leon album any time soon, but there are more daring rhythms and more sophisticated production here.
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Mar 2, 2021When You See Yourself is their most clued-in record in a decade. [Apr 2021, p.88]
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MojoMar 2, 2021It seems that self-examination has taken them to bold, new places. [Apr 2021, p.80]
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Mar 5, 2021The band’s ongoing shift away from its scruffy roots into something less easily identifiable is the most notable development here (additional kudos for making the album available as a first-of-its kind NFT). Who knows where it fits in this modern age, but some of it sounds pretty great.
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Mar 8, 2021Pretty much every song on When You See Yourself manages to convey what the past few Kings of Leon albums missed. 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.
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Mar 5, 2021The moody stateliness of When You See Yourself showcases their knack for building melodrama. The downside to this gift is that the album can seem like an interconnected piece, not a collection of songs. Individual tunes don't float out of the ether so much as fade into another handsome moment that's distinguished by production flair as much as it is by melody or hooks.
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Mar 4, 2021The band's eighth album is an arena rock of the mind, tempering the strapping anthemics of hits like "Sex on Fire" and "Use Somebody" for songs that stretch out en route to arriving at a serene kind of swagger. [Mar 2021, p.72]
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UncutMar 2, 2021Feels like the first step in a viable third chapter for a band that has rediscovered its identity. [Apr 2021, p.30]
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Mar 2, 2021This is an album that finds progress in small gradients. Subtle in its evolution, Kings Of Leon treat ‘When You See Yourself’ as a means to re-engage with their early bite, yet remain unwilling to cede their place at rock’s top table. As a result, it’s neither the complete break some yearn for, nor an attempt to re-capture the commercial power that emanated around ‘Only By The Night’.
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Mar 5, 2021As they’ve grown bigger, their songs have become increasingly interchangeable, and while that’s made for a certain measure of consistency, it’s anything but exciting.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 46 out of 60
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Mixed: 11 out of 60
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Negative: 3 out of 60
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Mar 6, 2021This review contains spoilers, click full review link to view.
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Mar 16, 2021
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Mar 12, 2021Surprisingly solid record. Best since their debut for sure. Fav track "Wave".