Day & Age

I always wondered how The Killers were so instantly brilliant. Brandon Flowers seemed to be born at his zenith, as if it was a constant state of evangelical fever that owned him. There was no early indie-EP, just a blaze of promotion and pop - as if manufactured at Island HQ.





It's unfair using a word like manufactured when Flowers is so interesting a rock star. Last time he sighted Springsteen for the black and white, fuzzed guitar of Hot Fuss, this time, on Day & Age it's surely The Pet Shop Boys - who for too long have been ignored by indie-scensters who've already gone through the Beach Boys, Depeche Mode and Fugazi.

The opener, Losing Touch, should be a single but won't be. Horns backed by thumping rhythm let Flowers begin with "console me in my darkest hours". It's safe to say his lyrics have rarely made any sense at all but it doesn't matter overly. Lennon and McCartney wrote some truly nonsense words, good pop has never relied on the lyrics but on the hook.

While we're talking hooks it's obvious to consider the lead single - Human. It's cracking radio pop that even manages to apparently reference Hunter S Thompson with it's refrain "are we human or are we dancer". And its bridge is perhaps the most obvious Pet Shop Boys reference across 10 tracks. There's plenty of air in the mix thanks to producer Stuart Price and that allows the psuedo-spiritual Flowers to fill the song.

Elsewhere A Dustland Fairytale shows off a classic Elton John piano ballad resplendent with an actual story - supposedly about Flowers' parents.

I dig The Killers because they're pop, because they're rock and most importantly because they're led by a charismatic rock star who makes it all matter even when it so clearly doesn't.