Four years after the release of their landmark debut in 2004, MTV VMA Award-winning, Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum Island Records group The Killers have completed their fourth album - and first new studio album in two y... more »ears - DAY & AGE, featuring the new single, "Human" debuting worldwide September 22nd, while the digital single will be released September 30th. The new album hits stores November 25th - two days before Thanksgiving. DAY & AGE was produced by Stuart Price, a key figure in electronic music (Les Rhythmes Digitales) who previously worked with The Killers on "Don't Shoot Me Santa," their 2007 Christmas single; as well as music on their 2007 compilation, Sawdust. Over the past five years, Price has worked as a producer, mixer, programmer, and keyboardist, including The Killers' "Mr Brightside" remix which was Grammy Nominated. The Killers - Brandon Flowers on vocals and keyboards, guitarist David Keuning, bassist Mark Stoermer, and drummer Ronnie Vannucci - found time to complete their new album while also wrapping up their biggest summer rock festival season in the U.S. and abroad. Historic headlining gigs at England's prestigious Leeds and Reading fests coincided with an appearance on the cover of NME's August 8th issue. Earlier in 2008, the Killers took home top honors for Best Band of the Year and Best Track of the Year ("Tranquilize") at the annual NME Awards USA gala, at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles on April 23rd. DAY & AGE comes one year after the release of Sawdust (November 2007), a 17-song collection of previously unreleased session tracks, B-sides, rarities and one-offs. The album was assembled at a recording studio in New York's Hell's Kitchen, where the Killers worked with Rock And Roll Hall Of Famer Lou Reed two recordings. Two singles and videos were issued: "Shadowplay" (from the motion picture soundtrack of Control, Anton Corbijn's biopic of Ian Curtis), and "Tranquilize". The Killers' RIAA platinum second album Sam's Town (October 2006) debuted at #2 and spun off two hit singles: the #1 Modern Rock "When You Were Young," nominated for Grammy Awards for Best Rock Song and Best Short Form Music Video; and "Read My Mind," the band's first #1 at Triple-A. Their worldwide 5 million-selling debut Hot Fuss (June 2004) was the longest-running rock album inside the top 50 on the Billboard 200 albums chart for all of 2005, logging 94 weeks on the chart - 53 of those inside the Top 50. The album spun off four solid hit singles - the Grammy-nominated anthem, "Somebody Told Me," the VMA-winning (and Grammy-nominated) "Mr. Brightside," the Modern rock hit "Smile Like You Mean It," and the Grammy-nominated "All These Things That I've Done."« less
Four years after the release of their landmark debut in 2004, MTV VMA Award-winning, Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum Island Records group The Killers have completed their fourth album - and first new studio album in two years - DAY & AGE, featuring the new single, "Human" debuting worldwide September 22nd, while the digital single will be released September 30th. The new album hits stores November 25th - two days before Thanksgiving. DAY & AGE was produced by Stuart Price, a key figure in electronic music (Les Rhythmes Digitales) who previously worked with The Killers on "Don't Shoot Me Santa," their 2007 Christmas single; as well as music on their 2007 compilation, Sawdust. Over the past five years, Price has worked as a producer, mixer, programmer, and keyboardist, including The Killers' "Mr Brightside" remix which was Grammy Nominated. The Killers - Brandon Flowers on vocals and keyboards, guitarist David Keuning, bassist Mark Stoermer, and drummer Ronnie Vannucci - found time to complete their new album while also wrapping up their biggest summer rock festival season in the U.S. and abroad. Historic headlining gigs at England's prestigious Leeds and Reading fests coincided with an appearance on the cover of NME's August 8th issue. Earlier in 2008, the Killers took home top honors for Best Band of the Year and Best Track of the Year ("Tranquilize") at the annual NME Awards USA gala, at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles on April 23rd. DAY & AGE comes one year after the release of Sawdust (November 2007), a 17-song collection of previously unreleased session tracks, B-sides, rarities and one-offs. The album was assembled at a recording studio in New York's Hell's Kitchen, where the Killers worked with Rock And Roll Hall Of Famer Lou Reed two recordings. Two singles and videos were issued: "Shadowplay" (from the motion picture soundtrack of Control, Anton Corbijn's biopic of Ian Curtis), and "Tranquilize". The Killers' RIAA platinum second album Sam's Town (October 2006) debuted at #2 and spun off two hit singles: the #1 Modern Rock "When You Were Young," nominated for Grammy Awards for Best Rock Song and Best Short Form Music Video; and "Read My Mind," the band's first #1 at Triple-A. Their worldwide 5 million-selling debut Hot Fuss (June 2004) was the longest-running rock album inside the top 50 on the Billboard 200 albums chart for all of 2005, logging 94 weeks on the chart - 53 of those inside the Top 50. The album spun off four solid hit singles - the Grammy-nominated anthem, "Somebody Told Me," the VMA-winning (and Grammy-nominated) "Mr. Brightside," the Modern rock hit "Smile Like You Mean It," and the Grammy-nominated "All These Things That I've Done."
"The Killers have a special place in my heart. They excel at writing engaging lyrics, creating passionate musical riffs, and forming choruses that are sometimes so good they're magical: "Bling (Confessions of a King)" and "Read My Mind," from Sam's Town, or "Mr Brightside" or "Smile Like You Mean It" from Hot Fuss.
It's safe to say I had huge expectations from Day & Age. Most of the tracks met them, but a few were genuine disappointments.
I was ready to accept a new style and sound from the Killers in Day & Age, based on their transformation from Hot Fuss to Sam's Town, as well as their live performance of "Human," on Saturday Night Live in the fall of 2008. Based on Human, I was expecting an album with more synth-pop influence and maybe even an electronic vibe.
While there is a significant synth feel to some of the tracks, The Killers have thrown in dance beats, some reggae influence, and even a synthetic harpsichord (This Is Your Life) into the album. It is a mash-up of musical styles that at times feels too much like a collage of influences instead of a finished album, but on my third listen I think they actually did pretty well over all. If you want a seamless album that traverses from song to song effortlessly, Day and Age will disappoint you. If you want a strange, intelligent, and always entertaining collection of songs that defy classification to a specific genre, this is a great choice.
"Human," is my favorite track, a song which I initially wrote off as having silly lyrics, until I read this quote from Flowers: "It's taken from a quote by [author Hunter S.] Thompson. 'We're raising a generation of dancers,' and I took it and ran. I guess it bothers people that it's not grammatically correct, but I think I'm allowed to do whatever I want," he laughed. " 'Denser'? I hadn't heard that one. I don't like 'denser.' " (from the MTV webpage)
"Losing Touch," "Spaceman," and "This Is Your Life," are also fantastic.
That said, there are some major losers in this collection.
Specifically, "I Can't Stay," actually made me angry listening to it. Incorporating steel drum into a song that sounds like the worst of the Beach Boys mashed-up with 80s pop made me wonder if I had entered a nightmare where the Killers were transforming into in a bubble-gum pop band. They could have left this track off the album in my opinion.
Thankfully, after the awful "I can't stay," they launch into "Neon Tiger," which is a tight little track and sounds like the Killers I know and love. However, the reprieve is short lived.
The next track, "The World We Live In," is again reminiscent of 80s pop, with a beat that I would expect from an Annie Lennox single from the early nineties. Really solid lyrics get lost in the dreary beat and uninspired instrumentation.
A shorter album than Hot Fuss (14 tracks) and Sam's Town (12 tracks), Day & Age at a mere 10 tracks feels a lot less 'dense,' than either of their first two offerings. 10 tracks minus a couple duds leaves you with only about 7-8 songs worth listening to. If you include Sawdust with it's 18 tracks (some of which are remixes or duplicates) this is easily the lightest offering to date from the Killers. That might not be a big deal if the quality of each song was very high, but that isn't the case in my opinion.
I would give this album 3.5 stars, but chose to round it up, because some of the songs are so good. If you're a Killers fan, it's a must buy. If you're new to the Killers, get Hot Fuss instead, and follow that up with Sam's Town, then Day & Age, and then Sawdust."
More than I expected
Erik Raymond | Omaha, NE USA | 12/02/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is my first purchase of Killers' stuff. I typically brush against 80's alternative and attempts to resuscitate it. However, after previewing track after track, I was sold.
I can't think of another contemporary band who is able to do what these guys do so well. Each song is unique, the music is arresting, the lyrics are engaging, and the songs are flat out well done.
My album has been on repeat throughout the weekend. I'm officially down with the Killers."
The Killers keep it fresh
NetworkShadow | 11/24/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Once again The Killers new album has it's own distinct sound different from their previous albums. I feel The Killers are one of the few bands that know how to keep their music really fresh without alienating fans of their past albums, you know it's not going to be more of the same.
Day & Age has a strong nostalgic sound influenced by '80s pop-rock among other genres that show through in each track, but at the same time the album sounds new and original. You can also hear a hint of their B-sides album Sawdust mixed in.
If it doesn't click with you right away give it a few listens through before passing judgment, if you are like me it will grow on you with every listen.
Buy now!"
Killers' Best, and The Best of 2008
M. Stockslager | NC | 12/29/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"A track-by-track review of my favorite album of 2008.
Losing Touch: Here we have the Killers' grandest album-opener by far. No disrespect to "Jenny Was a Friend of Mine" or "Sam's Town"; those tracks are great in their own ways. But "Losing Touch" has glimmer and funk to it which preview what is to come on the album. The song's lyrics are more than likely a response to critics who disowned the band after their sophomore album Sam's Town failed to satisfy them. Brandon Flowers tells them to "run and tell their friends I'm losing touch." After Flowers was accused of selling his soul "like a Roman vagabond," he "made [his] way back home" with this album.
Side note: While Sam's Town was poorly received by critics, I still say it's one of the best albums of the past 20 years.
Human: The first single from Day & Age is a dreamy dance-pop tune that never fails to make tears fall and my feet tap. The chorus' infamous line "Are we human or are we dancer?" is a paraphrase of Hunter S. Thompson and has stumped listeners and critics alike. My interpretation of the song this: Flowers sees people today as those who have lost all human emotion, said "so long to devotion," and has forsaken grace, virtue, good, soul, and romance. It is a heartbreaking sentiment put into beautiful words.
Spaceman: It only makes sense the second single would be a goofy Bowie-esque anthem about alien abduction. After such a thought-provoking song like "Human," what would be better than an extremely catchy rocker that doesn't have any deep, hidden meaning (or does it?). This simply is an account of being probed by aliens and then being convinced that "it's all in my mind."
Joy Ride: A funky, sexy (if the Killers can be called sexy) tale of late night drives in the desert, sleazy motels, rattlesnakes, and romance. Then we're told of a "glorious existence" in the distance: a promised realization of this "dream of the free world"?
A Dustland Fairytale: Sort of a continuation (or prequel) of Joy Ride, "A Dustland Fairytale" contains images of Brandon's childhood. He saw his father as "some kind of slick chrome American prince." We're given visions of a battle between Cinderella and the devil. She seems to be the only hope of saving the kingdom. Cinderella, the devil, and the kingdom probably symbolize something in Brandon's life, but to the listener the song is an account of a desert showdown between good and evil.
This Is Your Life: How odd that a song recalling a lonely stripper/call girl named Candy (formerly Jackie) on Track Street is back dropped with an African-style chant. Images are conjured up of a desolate west where "crooked wheels keep turning" and "the blood just barely dries" (almost reminds a person of the barren, hellish world created by Cormac McCarthy in No Country for Old Men). The chorus encourages Candy to "wait for something better," but she's reminded that she "[doesn't] know how to fly" to her dream-filled sky. Depending on one's perspective and interpretation, the song could be considered either a hopeful encouragement to Candy or a depressing reminder that she can't rise above her circumstances.
I Can't Stay: The lyrics are more than likely intentionally vague, but the subtle Caribbean beat and the chorus make the song seem like a celebration of coming out of some unknown darkness and into some indentified light.
Neon Tiger: Taken literally, this bombastic rocker urges an endangered species of tiger to run away from some unidentified evil that hunts it. I have not yet nailed down what I think the song means, though I do have one theory. The "neon tiger" in question may symbolize the dying planet, and the evil that hunts it could represent our human race that puts it in such danger. I've never heard of The Killers being strong environmental activists, but this song could be a subtle hint that we may be turning our earth into an endangered species. Just a theory.
The World That We Live In: The album takes us on a tour through the Midwest desert, the plains of Africa, the Caribbean shore, and outer space. This second-to-last track seems to be a recap of the trip, having "lessons learned" but still yearning for "something real." No matter what the world and life has come to, Flowers feels "sanctified and free."
Goodnight, Travel Well: The album closes with a monstrous, rumbling epic that seems to memorialize a family member that passed on. (EDIT: This is correct. It was written shortly after Dave's mother died). Flowers goes through a period of grief: "grieving frame," "my spirit moans with a sacred pain." He seems to reach peace: "It's quiet now, the universe is standing still." He recalls past memories: "Every word you spoke and everything you said, everything you left me rambles in my head." He goes back to the moment of the passing to plead for more time with them: "Stay! Don't leave me! The stars can't wait for your sign, don't signal now!" But through all this, "there's nothing [he] can say, nothing [he] can do now." Finally, he bids them one last farewell: "Goodnight...travel well." The song builds to this crushing climax, which soars with twinkling piano keys and crashing symbols, and then fades into black. Goodnight."