The Killers - Day & Age (Review)
Day & Age album cover.
If you know The Killers, you know that they’ve always been inventive, energetic, and focused. Hot Fuss introduced us to the dramatic, new-wave side of the band; and then Sam’s Town threw the whole thing in reverse with surprisingly raw rock and admirable depth in lyric.
Day & Age is really the best of both worlds - Melodic likability found throughout Hot Fuss, while channeling the creative chaos in the framework of Sam’s Town, including using some unusual instruments (i.e. harps).
Highlights like “Human,” “Spaceman,” “A Dustland Fairytale,” “Losing Touch,” and “This Is Your Life” comprise the flawless cornerstone of the album, while remaining tracks solidify that foundation with more memorable melodies and original arrangements.
Day & Age gets 6 out of 6 waves, a perfect score.
The dark, final act of the album, “Goodnight, Travel Well,” is the most outlandish outcry on the disc, featuring long drones, deep vocal repetition, and a palpably overcast tone. It’s actually a brilliant way to conclude Day & Age and keeps a continuity going with previous records.
There are very few true rock bands left, but The Killers career is just beginning. Through the mess of recent musical release disappointments, this one should be a no-brainer; there are no letdowns here. Play yourself some iTunes samples if you need to, but they definitely don’t give the actual music justice. An album for the century - Day & Age is the second coming of rock.
You can purchase Day & Age digitally or as CD and vinyl LP formats from Amazon.
Lars-Christian:
The Killers are certainly a fresh breath of air in today’s mainstream music, and a nice change of pace from all the Timbaland-produced music that seems to dominate the FM airwaves these days.
That said, I’m a little disappointed by this record so far, but that can be attributed to my expectations which were overdimensioned. I’d say it’s about the same level of quality as Sam’s Town, and I loved that. I just wanted something even better!
Posted on December 2nd, 2008 at 8:06 pm | #
Matt S.:
Yeah, I see where you’re coming from. I loved their first two albums too, Hot Fuss actually being my favorite. I don’t know; something about this album connected with me on the first listen.
It’s definitely different, but I think it’s still a pretty decent record overall. I’ve probably listened to it about 10 times now. I don’t want to wear it out, but it’s hard not to when it’s so good.
Posted on December 5th, 2008 at 12:44 am | #