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Some bands “sell out.” Some bands stay the same. The Killers have evolved.

Even if you’re not a huge fan of the Killers (which I admittedly am), you have to admit that you liked their older hits – “Somebody Told Me,” “Mr. Brightside,” “Read My Mind,” or “All These Things That I Have Done.” And even if somehow you hated all of those songs, you have to give Day & Age a chance. Every song Brandon Flowers sings on this album makes me feel like I’m watching a play – the music swells, the curtain opens, I instantly get swept into the actions. Each time the curtain falls, I want to burst into applause.

The album is very musically diverse. Each song sounds unique from the last, with different genres influencing the music. Some songs are heavily loaded with synths, while others have jazz-like saxophones. In a recent interview, Brandon stated that the new album was inspired by a trip to Panama. You can definitely tell that with “Joy Ride,” which has Hispanic drum influences, and “I Can’t Stay” has a very cha-cha beat with a harpy, steel drums, and sax (a combination you wouldn’t think would work, but definitely does). “This Is Your Life” incorporates an African tribal chant into the beat of the song and oddly mixes it with harpsichords; a bold move for the Las Vegas foursome but certainly a good one. If you’re looking for the old Killers sound, don’t worry – it’s still there. “Dustland Fairytale” and the two bonus tracks, “A Crippling Blow” and “Forget About What I Said” is reminiscent of their old material.

The music isn’t the only interesting part of the album – the lyrics are great as well. “Dustland Fairytale” is exactly that – an enchanted story about Brandon’s parents. You instantly get sucked in: “The Dustland Fairytale begins with just another white trash county kiss in 61. / Long brown hair, and foolish eyes. / He’d look just like you’d want him to: some kind of slick chrome American prince. / Blue Jean serenade, moon river what’d you do to me?” “Goodnight, Travel Well” is a slower, more depressing song about death: “all that stands between the soul’s release / this temporary flesh and bone / we know that it’s over now / I feel my faded mind begin to roam.” The chorus of “Human,” which many people argued over – is it “denser” or “dancers?” – is officially “are we human or are we dancer.” It’s from a quote from infamous Gonzo founder and US journalist Hunter S Thompson, who you probably know from the movie Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. The line is from a disapproving comment he made about American society, and was questioning whether the country was raising a generation of humans, or dancers.

The one track that didn’t blow me away was “The World We Live In.” Brandon’s soulful voice definitely shines through in this song, but somewhere it falls short. The chorus sounds just like the verses (which is a big pet peeve of mine), and although it tries to get interesting around the bridge, it never quite does. Disregarding that track, I think it’s a phenomenal piece of work. I personally can’t wait for more new music by them, and luckily we don’t have to: a Christmas single is set to be released very soon called “Joseph Better You Than Me,” recorded with none other than Elton John. Day And Age proves that the Killers aren’t going anywhere soon, and I for one am very glad about that. Day And Age isn’t just a great album, it’s one of the best records of 2008.

Recommended tracks: Spaceman, Dustland Fairytale, Forget About What I Said, I Can’t Stay

PMASCORE:  Bulbs!

Tags: The Killers

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 23rd, 2008 at 10:02 am by Randi Baron and is filed under Album Reviews, MP3, Music, New Releases, Reviews. You can follow any comments to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.