“Time in Disguise” has moments, the tribal drum rhythms of “Supermarket” along with the distant guitar, at best, provide a mesmerizing last few minutes that in some respects brings a sense of ease but only if Followill would stop repeating the “I’m going nowhere” chorus. The best track in “Golden Restless Age” begins and ends strong as does “Claire & Eddie” with its easy stroll and flowing vocals that work with the provided music. “The Bandit” powers through on melody with broad guitar strokes but the end production drowns out the vocals preventing this one from standing out. And if you can get through the first two slog minutes of “A Wave” you get an injection of energy until the band slows things down again.
“Echoing” suffers the same fate with a driving drum cadence pushing this one forward with hope until the almost dead stop of the chorus. Here throw some synths in, call it good, someone said.
The keyboards sound like an afterthought. Caleb Followill sounds like Bruce Springsteen at times in the slow introspective walk of “100,000 People” but they interrupt the flow again, and again with some out of place synths and eventually the song repeats until the end. When You See Yourself opens with the title track of sorts called “When You See Yourself Are You Far Away “ in a great Coldplay like bass line delivered by Jared Followill that makes this one pop until it gets weird with these kaleidoscopic keyboard effects. Too often a melody cruises along only for a total disruption like a wrench thrown into the spokes of the song tossing you over the album cover. Don’t expect much in terms of an uplifting pace, significant rock guitar with solos and chords that move, or well-crafted harmonies that leave an impression. The slow and at times lifeless When You See Yourself sounds more experimental than anything else that typifies their past sound. Kings of Leon When You See Yourself Album Review Not even sure how that works, but things don’t look too promising even with the potential for presents. How neat as Kings of Leon become the first band to use a non-fungible token (NFT) a type of cryptocurrency that unlocks fun things for fans. But I thought I’d give them a second chance with their eighth studio album When You See Yourself, out today. So, we went our separate ways and I didn’t even bother with their 2016 release WALLS even with the super cool cover. Not sure if he meant the band or audience as neither seemed interested in what was happening on stage.
Ultimately it was them not me as Kings of Leon looked bored, experienced technical difficulties, Caleb Followill’s vocals went south after just a few songs and he even commented on the lack of energy a quarter the way through. When I prepped for their Mechanical Bull concert a number of years ago I dove into their catalog, even found a setlist or two of likely songs and eventually convinced myself the live show would bring everything I was hearing to life. Turns out these guys can revel in ambiguity just as fully as they once reveled in their youth and young manhood.My conclusion for just not being able to get along with Kings of Leon. Throughout, producer Markus Dravs (Coldplay, Mumford & Sons) gives everything a graceful sheen, whether on the soft-rock romance “Claire & Eddie” or the moody “Supermarket,” with its molten goth bass line and lyrics that start as an invite to chill and end as a dream of getting clean and “whole again.” With its tight soul bass line, “Stormy Weather” feels like it might turn into a manly soul stomp, but instead, it pensively shimmies into the middle distance as Followill plays the love man in distress. Album opener “When You See Yourself, Are You Far Away” is all tension and no release, its gorgeous guitar arpeggios and martial groove leading to the epiphany: “The pleasures of this life I’m told, will spit you out in the middle of the road.” On “100,000 People,” Followill sings about love as a defense against today’s bleakness over a slow, soft-focused track that suggests a tough, Southern-steeped Coldplay. Even at their most sweeping, these songs brood and meander a bit, often in interesting directions. But if you’re looking for the woo-woo payoffs the Kings do so well, this record might surprise you.
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