They say that the heart grows fond in the absence of something you used to enjoy. This is certainly the mood around the return of The Killers, as they prepare to unleash their fourth album and their first in four years.
The fact they were welcomed like heroes to the Hyde Park stage in June 2011 shows that, for all the solo stuff put out by three of it's members, the fanbase (and radio stations) were really pining for the band in full.
Early press had suggested this album was sonically closer to the underrated gem Sam's Town than the synth-based duo of Hot Fuss and Day & Age. But have they achieved a knockout or should they have spent longer working on this one?
1. Flesh & Bone
Bleeping video game-style synths sound at first like an odd way to start the album, as Brandon talks of "natural selection" and "the dark horse running in this fantasy league". A cymbal crash sees this give way to a riveting disco-rock chorus with chants of "What are you made of? Flesh and bone".
This song is quite well produced, not least with the change of keys to a bass-led strut after the second chorus before the return of cruising guitars to the end. This could have been mismanaged but it certainly settles in well with the rest of the song. It's a great tune and great bet for next single.
2. Runaways
The comeback single and possibly the most Springsteen song they possibly could have picked. Acoustic guitar, synths and tales of "a blue eyed girl playing into sand" give way to a march that explodes into life with cries of "We can't wait until tomorrow", marching snare drums and loud guitars.
This song is much more of a grower - it is natural to think at first "this is Springsteen" because it certainly has more than an echo to the Boss at his most bombastic. But with repeated listens, it shows itself as a fantastic rocker and another hit for the band to their impressive cannon.
3. The Way It Was
My first impression of this song is that it sounds like "I've Had The Time Of My Life" from the Dirty Dancing film, and there is certainly more than a hint of this and other 80s power-ballds in this one.
Slinky guitars, twinkly pianos and talk of "Elvis" and "It's like we're going under" builds into a fairly decent 80s-rock chorus as Brandon longs for "The way it was when we met". It's a fairly decent little tune despite being heavily 80s-flavoured, even if not strictly one for repeating.
4. Here With Me
After the big opening trio, things are scaled back a bit for a more simple romantic ballad. Piano and Flowers' subtle vocals introduce this one, building from the piano to the simple chorus of "I don't want your picture on my cell phone, I want you here with me".
Very few of The Killers bigger known songs are ballads, and there are indeed few of them on their records since they a few cropped up towards the back of Hot Fuss. It's not a bad song and has some decent lyrics but it feels out of place this early on in the record.
5. A Matter Of Time
Unusually for a Killers track, the chorus feels like the weakest part of this song. The intro produces a swaggering, fast rock track that alternates leads between guitar and bass during the verses. This sounds impressive, but it feels disappointing when this build-up gives way to a fairly average AOR chorus with twinkling keyboards and slower pace.
The end returns to this, which is certainly the stronger parts of this song. It's unabashedly 80s and it seems to take in both good and bad sides of this sonic territory, revealing a song that's quite good for the most part but still someway to being fantastic.
6. Deadlines & Commitments
After a centre stage slot for the guitar, this song returns to piano and synth territory travelled during Here With Me and previous records.
This song seems to be trying to be the ballad of the broken working man that has lost his livelihood in the dire economic situation. There's some nice goseply vocal touches in this one and it's nice and delicately realised but it feels a little bit shallow in place of some bigger hitters. It leaves the song in an odd place - it's nice and all, but it just doesn't feel like it fits in.
7. Miss Atomic Bomb
About halfway through this one the familiar riff to Mr. Brightside pokes its head, surronding talk of "dust clouds". This is no mean feat - in interviews Flowers has described this as "the stately prequel" to his band's biggest hit, and there are certainly echos of the tale of betrayal that flavours the song.
The song is a very classy affair, mixing delicate synths, layers of guitars and thumping drum riffs, building to a huge chorus of "You're gonna miss me when I'm gone". Flowers' vocal delivery is more restrained from his usual holler but it gives the right tone for a lovely track. The only real disappointment is the fact that it goes for the fade out ending.
8. The Rising Tide
An almost UFO-sounding noise and video game synths build up at the start of this one. Slightly jarring is when the epic build-up gives way to the verse rather than a big riff. After this, the song starts to improve. Some random Michael Jackson style "Ow!"'s also combine over a huge mix of guitars and synths.
While the version the band played at a gig in summer 2011 there suggested a mix of Hot Fuss & Sam's Town, this song seems more like a mix of Day & Age and Sam's Town. It also works very well, combing good touches from the records to create a very good song.
9. Heart Of A Girl
It's a return to ballad country for this one, with just piano and vocals before simple drums and guitar work join the song as Brandon talks of being "on the shore waiting for the heart of a girl".
There are some nice vocal touches and some rather bizarre gospel chants in yet another 80s-song. It takes on the epic-ballad route and it's a pleasant listen, but not one for the memory.
10. From Here On Out
The album's shortest song and also one of it's punchiest. An almost country-and-western vibe flavours this tune in the combination of acoustic and slide guitars.
An unusually bitter tone in the lyrics - "From here on out, friends are gonna be hard to come by" - combines with a fairly swaggering song that fits in some funky guitar work before the song comes rushing to a halt at the 2 1/2 minute mark. It's probably the nearest TK will come to The Vaccines, but it still sounds pretty good.
11. Be Still
This song is another to start with just vocals and synthy-piano - the fourth such on this record. Electronic drums crop up before the song swells into an epic-sounding mood and then fades away at the end.
This song I'd say is probably the best of the ballads that pepper this record, as it gets the right balance between reserved and epic that the best power-ballads manage. Although personally I'd rather hear organic drums than electronic ones, it is still a godo enough tune that warrants inclusion.
12. Battle Born
Huge guitars and strings come out in force for this one. It's a stadium-rock cliche that bands get strings in when they want to go massive.
After about the four minute mark, the huge vibe gives away to an almost ambient piano, synth and string piece punctured by hits on the gong, sort of similar to Midnight Show and This River Is Wild from previous records. But it certainly sounds like the massive album closer that they've always threatened to create but never perfected.
The deluxe edition comes with a remix of Flesh & Bone and two extra numbers - the reasonable Carry Me Home and Prize Fighter, which should arguably be on the actual record.
Overall, I'd say it shares some similarities sonically with all three Killers albums - the widescreen sound and rockouts of Sam's Town, as well as the pop ears of their debut and the dance sounds of their last one. But it also shares similarities with Hot Fuss and Day & Age in terms of track quality - there are some great songs and some numbers that aren't as good.
For what it is it is still a good record and the band are certainly closer to finding their sound.
7.5/10
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