The Killers Lay Tribute At the Altar of All Things '80s

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The Killers are many things, but bashful sure as hell ain't one of 'em. The Las Vegas band's debut Hot Fuss was pure 80s glam worship at its finest, making it one of the surprise hits of 2004. After letting Brandon Flowers indulge his Springsteen fantasies on their slightly misguided Sam's Town and blowing off steam with the Sawdust compilation, The Killers come back reaching for the sky and ready to work this year with the bombastic Day and Age. This new record is a recognizable third step in the band's progression, taking the best elements of the two previous records and creating a monster of an album that is nothing if not grand, fun, and completely lacking in apologies.

Day and Age comes in with full '80s bombast in the form of "Losing Touch", a track that mixes the synthesized wonder of Hot Fuss's "Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine" with the brass-band, blue-collar rock that permeated Sam's Town. From there the album doesn't skip too many beats, offering loud, sing-with-the-windows-down fun rock music. Flowers' lyrics make about as much sense as they always have (read: not too much, but who cares?), but when the melodies touch the sky and the music forbids you to listen sitting down, the indulgent musing is forgivable. First single "Human" gets better with every listen, and matches nearly every single The Killers have ever released (except maybe the epic "All These Things That I've Done"). "Joy Ride" is another bouncy, unwavering classic in the making. If you get the leaked version that I snagged or the iTunes release, bonus track "Forget About What I Said" is the kind of song you put on repeat for an hour and just enjoy however you choose. The only false note on the entire album is the closer "Goodnight, Travel Well". For some reason The Killers seem to think they need to announce when they're done playing with a song saying just that. The sooner Flowers and co. realize they can just leave the stage with a final bang, the better their records will get.

Day and Age resembles what would happen if The Police and Bruce Springsteen got into a marching-band style war, each trying to outplay the other. The winner here is whoever's listening. The Killers sound like they hit their mark in full force this time around. There's no hesitation whatsoever on this record, and certainly no shame. Day and Age is a sweeping, unapologetic tribute to the glam, the goof, and the ego that the 80s embodied. And damn it if Day and Age isn't the best job the Killers have ever done to pay homage. By putting forth significantly less effort, The Killers have put together their finest work to date, an album that rewards with every trip through.

Final Score: 9/10
The Killers - Human
The Killers - Joy Ride
Pre-Order/Buy Day and Age on iTunes

==TJ==

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