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album review
The Killers' great gift is that they -- and in particular their frontman, Brandon Flowers -- have utterly no recognition of the ridiculous. More than that, they're drawn to the ridiculous, piecing together sounds that don't belong together, reaching far beyond their grasp, aiming for profundity and slipping into silliness. All this weighed the band down mightily on Sam's Town, their convoluted Americana theme park of a sophomore album, all false façades and paper-thin pretension, but on its 2008 sequel, Day & Age, the Killers shrink the canvas and brighten their palette, opting for a big sound over big themes. Since the Killers are at their core poseurs and not prophets, style over substance is the right move and Day & Age has style for miles and miles, exceeding even their debut, Hot Fuss, in its stainless steel gleam. If anything, Hot Fuss was a little too monochromatic in its obsession with '80s synth rock, a criticism that can hardly be leveled at Day & Age, a record that stitches together sounds with an almost blissfully idiotic abandon. Anchored in dance-rock though they may be, the Killers no longer sound like mere disciples of New Order and Duran Duran: emboldened by the left turns of Sam's Town, no matter how misguided they may have been, the Killers will try anything, goosing "Losing Touch" with growling saxophones, creating a Strokes disco for "Joy Ride," flirting with worldbeat à la Vampire Weekend on "This Is Your Life," dancing the bossa nova on "I Can't Stay," and riding a tight soulful rock & roll groove on "The World We Live In," bringing it close to a mad fusion of Steve Miller's "Abracadabra" and Hall & Oates' "Private Eyes." Like before, it's impossible to tell if such improbable juxtapositions are intentional or accidental, but given the overall tightness of Day & Age, it feels as if the Killers do indeed mean to create these odd, often pleasing, pop pastiches. And the emphasis damn well should be on the sound and melody, for Flowers remains a downright goofy lyricist, whether he's misinterpreting Hunter S. Thompson on "Human" or recounting an alien abduction on "Spaceman." Ridiculousness is much harder to stomach in words than it is in music, but the nice thing about Day & Age is that not only is Flowers' voice relatively buried, the Killers are unwittingly comfortable with their ludicrous, outsized pop, which turns the album into terrifically trashy pop. Not the serious rock they yearn to be by any means, but these fashionable threads fit them better anyway. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
more albums by this artist
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- Hot Fuss
- Released 2004
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- Sam's Town
- Released 2006
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- Sawdust
- Released 2007
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- When You Were Young (Single)
- Released 2006
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listener reviews
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uhh
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- By mikolos31
- 4/24/2009 03:33:41
- i really went crazy over their first cd hot fuss. the current songs seem to be headed in a completely different direction.
- 1 out of 3 people
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Pretty Good
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- By C2itlyn
- 3/28/2009 19:19:28
- I'm slightly disapointed. Don't get me wrong, I love the Killers, but they have done better. My favorite song on this CD is A Dustland Fairytale. it's really cute but sad at the same time. it's about how his parents met while living in a trailor park when they were both 15, and also about him coming to terms with the fact that there getting older and won't always be around when he needs them to be.
- 0 out of 2 people
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Pretty Good theyve done better
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- By Benjamin Colney
- 12/26/2008 00:01:01
- Like my title is was pretty good, it started good but then they started to try to much, Spaceman is possibly one of the best songs they have ever made, but Human is pretty overrated. I still like Hot Fuss the best, just because thats the music i started listening too when they came out and now they try to give into the POP culture. Just in my Opinion.
- 3 out of 4 people
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BEST ALBUM
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- By Laurita89
- 12/16/2008 07:52:54
- day & age is their best album to date. its great from beginning to end.
- 3 out of 3 people
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#1
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- By XxPhuzzxX
- 12/9/2008 02:58:40
- Best album to date, non-stop listener here. The harmony is perfect throughout the album. ☺
- 5 out of 5 people
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Great
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- By idspence161
- 12/1/2008 03:39:21
- This is the best album that they have ever made
- 5 out of 6 people
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Good.
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- By Spartan32393
- 12/1/2008 00:40:14
- This CD is good. I really like Spacemen. But it is not close to there 1st album Hot Fuss was Crazy. I don't really like where the Killers are going, each album has gotten worse, I like this better then Sawdust though.
- 2 out of 7 people
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Great
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- By VinnyVance
- 11/30/2008 23:56:50
- I think they are fantastic and I love this album, but it's very difficult to say if it's their best yet. I really like the previous two cd's and to be fair I would have to give this cd the same amount of listening time to make that decsion. In the meantime I will really enjoy listening to this cd over and over!!!!
- 2 out of 3 people
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Okay
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- By JSmallZee
- 11/30/2008 23:35:05
- This album is alright, some lyrics are pretty cheesy, (especially in the song Human). The riffs and instrumental parts of the songs are repetitive. The Killers are good, but this album was lacking compared to their first two.
- 4 out of 6 people
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Great
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- By fatmanunk
- 11/27/2008 00:57:55
- Beautiful ablum, through and through, enough said
- 2 out of 4 people
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