The Killers – Day & Age

Island 2008

Rating: 7/10

The Killers have always been masters of imitation; their excellent debut Hot Fuss was New Wave synth-pop at its best, an eerie, slightly dark New Order / Duran Duran for the new millennium, while follow-up Sam’s Town was an ill-advised stab at Springsteen-ian rock with “deep” lyrics and a bigger sound. Day & Age certainly does not see the Killers dialing down their desire to be an epic band; the production is ridiculously oversized, and they ape from so many different genres it’s hard to pin down any definite influence. Luckily for them, most of the songs here are strong enough to forgive any major transgressions, and their influences so wide-ranging it’s hard to find fault with any particular one.

Whatever you do when it comes to listening to Day & Age, don’t put too much stock into singer Brandon Flowers’ lyrics. From asking “are we human or are we dancers” on single “Human” to the heavy-handed Cinderella metaphor on “A Dustland Fairytale,” Flowers tends to spew metaphysical, opaque bullshit more often than not. While this dragged down much of Sam’s Town, the Killers focus on making up-tempo pop songs saves the day here. They do Vegas proud on the boisterous, practically vulgar-sounding opener “Losing Touch,” which announces itself with a big-band horn riff and some slinky bass, while the Caribbean-tinged “Joy Ride” pogoes along a steel-drum rhythm before erupting into an epic, Clash-style harmonized chorus. The Killers pull no punches with the production here; when you hear the epic strings, piano, and pounding drum climax of “A Dustland Fairytale,” you can just picture Phil Spector smiling somewhere.

Their third album, all in all, borrows more from the pop glory of Hot Fuss, as is evident on standard synth rockers like “Spacemen” and the echoing guitar pop of “Neon Tiger,” but their decision to broaden their sound even further with various world flavors and a healthy appreciation for multi-tracked choruses makes Day & Age a potentially more accomplished album, if not for one as immediately enjoyable. Now if only Flowers could cut down on the English 101 lyrical masturbation, the Killers would be well on their way to establishing themselves as a consistently entertaining rock band.