November 20, 2008

The Killers - Day & Age (2008)

I have a soft spot for the Killers. Too many late nights included "Mr. Brightside" or "Somebody Told Me" on the soundtrack. But ultimately they are a singles band, which is to say they are perfect for the the iPod era, which is also to say their albums are only as good as the singles. Their best songs are standout tracks on mixes until they are overplayed – the songs that get even the most reluctant leftfeets onto the dance floor.

Overall, the album is good-ish, a return to the sound of their first album, but none of the tracks are awesome and it's not worth discussing any songs not in contention for dance floor singles. They do seem to be trying for another party anthem. There's plenty of bombastic lyrics and music, but the songs don't stick. "Spaceman" and "Human" seem like the two most likely to get you moving.

2 Comments:

awmercy said...

Nightrain, as our resident party music aficionado, am I being to harsh? Did I set the bar too high?

Nightrain said...

I have yet to hear this album--I'm too busy listening to Chinese Democracy on repeat--so at this point in time my input is limited, but...

In general, I don't think you are being too harsh at all. Honestly, I can only name like 4 Killers songs off the top of my head, and I consider myself a "casual" Killers fan. Interestingly enough, I think their best song to date is "Jenny Was A Friend of Mine," which is a standout primarily due to its phenomenal baseline. The thing that is interesting about that is, when I mention that song to "legitimate" Killers fans, they often don't know which song I am talking about. What can be deduced from that is the fact that even KILLERS FANS don't know many of their songs outside the singles.

In short, The Killers produce "albums" that fit in perfectly with today's music model--focus on the singles and the rest is all fuzz.