So The Killers are coming back with their fifth album ‘Wonderful Wonderful’. Their Glastonbury secret set earlier this year was their audition piece to headline the festival in the future and they were so confident and self assured that the five years away barely seems to have phased them. If they can ride that wave of self-assuredness, the new album could storm the charts.
But what of the previous four albums? We won’t count ‘Sawdust’ as it’s mainly just remixes. So… in reverse order:
Header picture credit: By Raph_PH (KillersBST080717-38) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
4: Day & Age
The dance rock album that’s got a few good singles amongst a sea of slightly forgettable album filler that occurs throughout most of the album’s running time. It tries to be a combination of both ‘Sam’s Town’ and ‘Hot Fuss’ but it doesn’t fully click. It falls victim to an issue that will appear later on in this list, where the last songs fade off into obscurity and lose attention. Only here this happens a lot earlier, just after the halfway mark.
It’s a shame as the first half of the album has some strong songs in it. ‘Spaceman‘ and ‘Human‘ are strong singles and open the album with ease. How awesome would it be to one day have a film end with ‘This is Your Life‘ as it has a 1980s teen movie credit sequence feel to it.
But past that song? The album really doesn’t do much to keep your attention.
3: Battle Born
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‘Battle Born‘ immediately feels as if it’s slightly more consistent in comparison to its predecessor. It has the motherload of all lead singles in ‘Runaways‘ and the album manages to keep the attention going throughout. It manages its slower tracks with it’s higher epic anthems with ease.
‘A Matter of Time‘, ‘Miss Atomic Bomb‘, ‘From Here On Out‘ and even the title track itself see the band balancing its evolution and crafting a mix of the different flavours their previous output had.
The album feels like a Killers album, with songs you could easily identify as Killers songs based on what you’ve heard in the past. That means, however, that the album is really dependent on the sounds that have came before, lacking its own unique identity which means you really can’t pigeonhole it within their own development as a band. The songs are better throughout though, hence why it’s third in this list.
2: Hot Fuss
Boy. *This* was a tough decision. There’s so many great songs on this album. It’s the album that moved me away from rap music. It contains my favourite song of all time (‘Mr Brightside‘) and they were also my second “first” gig after going to a Steps concert for my sister’s birthday. The vinyl is hung on my wall in a frame.
So why is it only *second* on this list? Believe me, it’s a tough decision and on another day I’d put this first. But there are reasons why today this is the runner up.
The term “banger” is thrown around in music so much as a way of describing album of songs that have the potential of being singles. It’s the rationale behind Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller‘, and whilst ‘Hot Fuss‘ isn’t wall-to-wall bangers, the songs on it are very, very good… it’s just not all of them are bonafide singles. The “bangers” on this album rocket off the disc and end up invading alien planets.
Overplayed in this day and age it may be, but ‘Mr Brightside‘ is an anthem for all those worried by self doubt and jealousy. ‘Jenny Was A Friend of Mine‘ opens an album filled with loud sing along choruses. ‘Somebody Told Me‘ is a mission statement for the band and ‘Indie Rock n Roll‘ delivers a gradual build up that allows an album to peak. The UK version didn’t have ‘Change Your Mind‘ – it’s inclusion in the Spotify album is incredibly off-putting.
But for some reason, I’ve never really been able to listen to the last two tracks. Or at least, they kind of just dip off into the ether. It’s a shame that during re-listens of the album, interest is *still* lost, especially considering the massive impact this album had on my music taste. ‘Midnight Show‘ and ‘Everything Will Be Alright‘ are… alright, but I’ve just never put them on the same level as everything else on that album.
1: Sam’s Town
How could music critics pan this album on release? It’s only until years later when people started to suggest that this may have been the most underrated album of the 00s. It’s a different beast to ‘Hot Fuss‘ for sure, but it packs a growing maturity and a commitment to a sound and ideal that flows through the package.
What we have here is an album that showcases a sound we’ll refer to as “Dirty Nevada”. You can feel the dust blowing across wide expanses of desert, the images of seedy motels and casinos that have been iconic throughout the lifetime of Las Vegas. It has a more American influence on the songs than the 80’s new wave of ‘Hot Fuss‘ and the songs have a richer and more vivid story behind them.
In comparison to the other albums, there’s nothing here that feels like filler. The ‘Enterlude‘ and ‘Exitlude‘ are essential for the album as a whole. Then the bangers just do not stop. ‘When You Were Young‘ has a chorus and breakdown that shatters the listener immediately. ‘Bling (Confessions Of A King)’ continues the ongoing wave of excellence. ‘For Reasons Unknown’, ‘Read My Mind’ – all awesome. The “slow epic build up song” established by ‘Indie Rock and Roll is Uncle Johnny‘ – a track that is just so bloody powerful it still leaves an impact on every listen. You follow that with ‘Bones‘, ‘My List‘ and probably the best song on the album: ‘This River is Wild‘ before we wind things down with ‘Why Do We Keep Counting‘. You can’t pick a bad song there.
It’s the strongest album out of the lot (well, d’uh) but it was nearly second because of the personal connection to ‘Hot Fuss‘. But for those that don’t have a personal connection to these albums – you can’t go wrong with ‘Sam’s Town‘.
What’s your favourite album The Killers have produced? Are you excited for their new album? Let us know!