Due to the fact that this Las Vegas group has never denied their 80s influences (actually, calling the following artists mere influences is like saying Zoso is just influenced by Led Zeppelin) like Bruce Springsteen, Joy Division, or Roxy Music, I tend to listen to them and judge how much I like their interpretations of these influences rather than look at them as artists of original music.The first band I ever saw in St. Louis back in 2004, when I was fresh off the boat, was The Killers at Mississippi Night. I later saw them at The Pageant with J and M. I feel like, not only do they make me nostalgic about the 80s, but they also make me nostalgic for my few years in St. Louis. In general, my Killers admiration can get complicated and cloudy.
I also feel like my admiration for this band is incredibly manic, too. I will tear up a Killers album like a dog with a new toy. Once I’m done I throw it out and have no interest in listening to it until I’m ready to start the cycle again. When I’m in full-on Killers mode I do stupid things like get speeding tickets because I’m lost in the cd. But who knows when the mood will hit? How can a band be a danger to my mental health? What is it about them?
At the end of the day, I am undeniably in love with The Killers. They symbolize a somic euphoria to me that keeps me one foot in even while I’m facing the other direction.
But, back to Day and Age. I was extremely pleased by more than half the songs I loved while the rest I felt were just fillers. In the same mold as Sam's Town, it seemed like the second half of the album contained the most. That's extremely disappointing since I think this band is capable of so much more.
My highlights include:
Losing Touch - A Bowie-esque/ U2 Pop era tune layered with saxes and ping pong or Atari-sounding keyboards that opens the album.
Human - This is The Killers that I know J loves. I do, too! It’s a synth-laden, pop new wave throwback at the band’s best. This one also happens to be the theme song to the latest Blackberry Storm ads.
Spaceman - 80s pop HIT style. This song is the gateway drug that eventually leads the way to an incredibly poor attempt of me doing Molly Ringwald dance. This song will bring a tear to my eye when I see them live next year in Nashville. God, this one will be the one to make me get a ticket again. I get lost in this one.
I Can’t Stay - In my opinion, this song is a total hats-off to Talking Heads... the Talking Heads material I can stomach. I love the breezy, Caribbean flow of this one.
I am about to echo J here regarding the tempo of some of the songs..to me, this album contains a frenzy of mid-tempo fillers (not including bonus tracks):
A Dustland Fairytale - Sad 80s.
This Is Your Life - African chant 80s, big with artists like Peter Gabriel or the Dream Academy (Life in a Northern Town guys).
The World We Live In- Bad 80s.
Neon Tiger - Tune that needs a dance remix.
Joy Ride - Roxy Music all the way. I think this one could grow on me, but just doesn’t quite cut it.
Goodnight, Travel Well - If you strip away the layers of music you’ll hear planetarium theme music wedged into the background which makes it sort of interesting to me, but otherwise this album doesn’t benefit from it.
In the end I know I have to choose a rating. In my opinion, though there are a few stand-outs, I think this one is for the fans. This is hard to do, but I give it an UNMOVING. -K
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