The Killers have returned with their third full length LP entitled Day & Age.
The record opens Losing Touch. A soft yet enticing opening pulls you in preparing you for the journey you are about to take. The rest of the song punches with guitars and saxophones, and pulls you back making you feel like your coasting along in a new land yet feeling as though you are on a mission, and at some points, even feeling lost, searching for some hope.
This is perfect to be followed by a very dreamy, "Human." This songs with it's soaring synth and abstract lyrics can hit your soul in any possible way. A song that lends itself to your heart and it's own interpretation. It definitely makes you feel as though you could do just about anything.
After the launch out of this earth with "Human" we find ourselves wrapped into a narrative of being abducted by aliens and the life lived after the fact in the fist pumping feet moving mind flying "Spaceman." This song paints a series of beautiful pictures in your brain of a man struggling with what he experienced and that no one around him understands except the ones from far above.
Suddenly we are pulled away from the far distances of the unknown and pulled into the funky night life of "Joyride." A dangerous journey of risk and high life. Pumping the excitement in your shoes with the lines "When your chips are down, when your highs are low, joyride!"
From there the partying dies out, and we turn to a beautiful ballad known as "A Dustland Fairytale." This song begins with piano and a melody that shouts into the sunset. It slowly adds more instruments into the mix until it fully takes off into a whirlwind of emotions.
We drift into "This Is Your Life" that is perfect for any stroll out into the world. It has a steady yet determined rhythm. This is where the album really pulls away from The Killers we've known before now, but it is no mistake. It is a relaxed and chill feeling song.
Followed by the summer dreamland of "I Can't Stay with it's driving acoustic riff, easily able to be connected to a camp fire party on the beach at the close of the summer. A very different sound for The Killers, but again they continue to define themselves in any form they see fit, which only demands respect.
We blast into a Killers sound from the past with "Neon Tiger." This song flows over hills so smoothly, with a sudden change in a bridge that lends the title of the album within it leading us into a power battle of Brandon shouting "Come on girls and boys! Everyone make some noise!" flowing with the full backing of the group including strings, this part just makes you want to get up, jump around and yes, make some noise.
"The World We Live In" is a fun classic rock tune mixed with a bit of 80's pop flair. An enjoyable grooving song that leads very nicely into the final song of the record.
"Goodnight Travel Well" is a very different turn from the rest of the record. It is a very dark and gloomy, yet a very touching and beautiful epic feel attached to it. It reflects wonderfully the moments of a tragedy when everything just feels like its all over. The final end of the song has a sense of hope, all of the instruments and voices just trucking along with a feeling of when you got caught going up the mountain, that you take your last bit of strength and climb over the top to the other side. A song overpowered by emotion with leave you with a silent pause before you get up to continue on with your day.
The bonus tracks are also a wonderful treat so I recommend those as well. These ten songs of the record are only ten of 30 songs that have been said will be released. 29 songs were recorded for this record and The Killers have said the rest will be released as b-sides in some way, the 30th song to the mix is the Christmas song including The Pet-Shop Boys and Sir Elton John which will no doubt be quite a gift. Keep an eye and ear out for the rest.
With each Killers record I have felt that one or two songs on it just weren't up to par with the rest of the record. This is true with this record as well, but overall I would say that Day & Age triumphs on new grounds and old. New experimental instrumentation and new beautiful lyrics of Brandon that only keep getting better. The Killers continue three for three with solid records leaving fans wondering, where will they go next? We can only wonder for now...
"The star maker says "it ain't so bad, the dream maker's gonna make you mad, the space man says, "everybody look down! it's all in your mind..."
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