The Killers
Day & Age
Island Records
By Kevin Hakansson
So I've been sitting here for a few moments trying to think of a modern band (you know, not some geriatric "heritage act") that is as big as the Killers are right now. While there are certainly a few others in their league, there's little doubt that the Killers are riding high, and not just on the strength of their new record, Day and Age. The fact of the matter is, Day and Age comes on the heels of two other records, 2004's Hot Fuss and 2006's Sam's Town that made the Killers very big, very fast. Yet Day and Age, while not the ambitious revelation that Sam's Town turned out to be, is nonetheless a solid, familiar record from a band you could have easily predicted to have plunged off some career-ending cliff at this point.
Brandon Flowers and company are full-blown celebrities by now, and at least at the album's beginning, Day and Age reflects a band that has certainly chilled out. In fact the opening "Losing Touch" may even be a tad too mellow, at least for mega-huge album by a mega-huge band. The verse-punctuating horn hits are about the only thing waking this one up.
The opening tune does, however, nicely set up the album's initial single. "Human" is sickeningly catchy, but much different then older Killers' smash-hits like "Mr. Brightside." It's not remotely loud, bombastic, or fast. Yet at the same time, there's no denying that it was the right choice as the song to push from this record. Despite it's middling tempo, the song's "Are we human or are we dancers?" chorus, while beautifully catchy, is also quite danceable and backed by an infectious drumbeat.
As you might imagine, The Killers don't stay with the emo, laid back vibe throughout the whole record. "Spaceman" is a semi-chaotic, synth and acoustic guitar driven shout-along, while "Joy Ride" is a sexy funk tune, complete with wailing saxophone solos and Flowers singing "Stranded on the heatwave burning with desire/She was on the sidewalk looking for a night light." Even the relaxed "The World We Live In" has a certain edge to it. Hey, would you expect producer Stuart Price, renowned for his work in the dance music world, allow this thing to come to fruition without at least one or two floor-burners?
While many will cling to these faster dance numbers, or later, more epic songs like "Goodnight, Travel Well" or the closing "Forget About What I Said" as what drives this record, Day and Age is at its best when Flowers and his band are showing that there's still some sensitive songwriting hidden below their celebrity exterior. Most of "A Dustland Fairytale" has Flowers doing his best Elton John: just a piano and his crooning voice. This one gets a little rowdier toward the song's tail end, but it's impossible to ignore the gorgeous intro that set its foundation. Next, "This is Your Life" and "I Can't Stay" are both, lyrically, at least, your textbook looking forward/ahead lament, but with the help of Price, each song's melody and instrumentation give them some uniqueness and staying power.
It's hard to place just where Day and Age will eventually place in the story of the Killers' career. In fact, it seems likely that, thanks to the visibility of songs like "When You Were Young" and "Read My Mind," Sam's Town, and perhaps even Hot Fuss, will be more fondly remembered. Still, it seems like many fans and critics are just waiting to identify the first sign of the demise of any successful band. In the Killers' case, this album ain't it.
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