GRAMMY-WINNING ROCK QUARTET KINGS OF LEON DISCUSSES THE MANY MOTIFS OF NEW ALBUM WHEN YOU SEE YOURSELF, ITS FIRST IN FOUR YEARS

BY AMANDA MCCOY

According to concert archives, Caleb Followill fronted Kings of Leon has played 1,963 shows since 2003, from football-sized arenas on the same ticket as Miley Cyrus and Calvin Harris to brooding underground cocktail clubs under the glow of a few tea candles. The quartet’s style has evolved since the early days of garage rehearsals in their Tennessee home. In the early ‘00s, the band of boys emitted a more “rollicking renegade” persona before mega hits like “Sex is on Fire” sent them into ubiquitous rock titan status with a sound brewed for the stadium.

Thundering and anthemic, the blustering chords paired with Followill’s gruff vocals can gorge an arena. So what do red-blooded performers do when a global health crisis shutters their tour dates for over a year? They put out a damn good album.

“It was the first time we’ve had this amount of time to make a record,” noted the band’s front man. “When we made this record, we could sit down and reflect. We weren’t rushing it out.” Though it was written and recorded pre-pandemic for an intended 2020 release, the band decided to table it for a year, giving them the chance to “live with [the album] for a while.”

When You See Yourself, KOL’s 8th and the first album since 2016’s Walls, makes a statement that the rough-and-rowdy boys of lore are a little more grown up. The 11-track collection is powerful but nuanced, some songs laced with tension and introspection, others with grit and agitation.

“Bandit,” the first track, is a playful story about cowboys and capers, its earworm riffs reminiscent of the band’s earlier sound. There are requiems grappling with age and fame (“Fairytale” and “Time in Disguise,” respectively) and even a statement on climate change (“Claire and Eddie”). “100,000 People” is a six-minute slow burner that pairs hypnotic lyrics with a simple harmonic progression. The album is decidedly more subtle and the most personal, noted the leading Followill offering more simmer than sizzle, but perhaps that’s exactly what the world needs right now.

Kings of Leon
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