Kings of Leon, 100,000 People | Track Review 🎵

Kings of Leon continues a strong comeback with “100,000 People,” a lengthy promo track from the band’s 8th studio LP, When You See Yourself.

2016. That was the last time that 🏆 Grammy-winning rock collective 🎙 Kings of Leon released a new album (💿 WALLS). Thankfully, 2021 marks the return of the Followills (three bros, one cousin), with the release of their eighth studio album, 💿 When You See Yourself (🗓 March 5, 2021). KOL released two singles simultaneously: 🎵 “The Bandit” and 🎵 “100,000 People.” Like “The Bandit,” the lead single from When You See Yourself, “100,000 People” gives the band another successful offering.

“100,000 People” ends up running longer than “The Bandit” – approaching six minutes in duration.  No worries as it’s a intriguing six minutes all in all.  The record commences with a hypnotic sound – groovy, moderately-slow paced, and poised.  It features a simple harmonic progression, which initially gives “100,000 People” a minimalistic feel.  Where “The Bandit” possesses more explicit energy, “100,000 People” has cooler, more measured energy.  Worth noting, the record does pick up more steam but let’s not get ahead of ourselves!

🎙 Caleb Followill exhibits restraint from the onset, contrasting his more assertive performance on “Bandit.” Even pulling back, Followill remains an incredibly effective front man.  As previously asserted, “100,000 People” progressively picks up more steam musically.  There’s a nice addition of some electronic sounds that are definitely unexpected from Kings of Leon.  As the instrumental picks up steam, likewise Caleb becomes progressively edgier as well.  The best section of the song is the chorus, specifically the constantly repeated “You do,” backed sweetly by an expanded sound palette.  Obviously, the lyric “You do” isn’t profound but no worries – there’s plenty of strong songwriting throughout.

Final Thoughts 💭

Once again, I ask, was “100,000 People” – one of two singles marking the return of King of Leon – worth the wait? Again, the answer is yes. Perhaps the only con is the length – it does run just shy of six-minutes after all.  Still, that’s more of a nitpick than a major offense.  Both “The Bandit” and “100,000 People” serve as a fine prelude to When You See Yourself. 

🎙 Kings of Leon • 💿 When You See Yourself • 🏷 RCA • 🗓 3.5.21

[📷: RCA]