The Killers
Day & Age

THE REVIEW

That the Killers are a band destined to last over time, the most attentive will have realized from the splendid second album "Sam's Town".

Now that Brandon Flowers and company have reached the release of their third full-length album, titled "Day & Age", everything fits even more. The producer changes once again (from the stellar duo Flood/Alan Moulder to Stuart Price, the mind behind the recent "confessions on a dance floor" by Miss Ciccone), and, consequently, the sounds proposed by the American quartet vary as now customary.

In certain episodes, a (at least) partial recovery of the freshness of their beginnings that was somewhat lost in the previous episode (the only flaw of that album, moreover) is evident: in the first single "Human", for example, the mix halfway between Pet Shop Boys and New Order creates a dancey and lively atmosphere reminiscent of the most entertaining moments from their debut "Hot Fuss" (the overexposed "Somebody Told Me", for example). In this sense, the vintage Bowie of the second single "Spaceman" can also be cited. The initial quartet is completed by the first track "Losing Touch", a sort of "melodic identity card" of the band, and the very particular "Joy Ride", which seems, with its pulsating bass and funky guitar, assembled thinking of the soundtrack to any seventies TV series. If the album continued like this, we would be looking at the third full success of the guys, but things slow down a bit.

"A Dustland Fairytale" is a good melody dominated by the synthesizer, but it works and doesn't work. Even if it's destined to do very well in the stadiums, given the epic nature of the chorus. For "This Is Your Life", the discussion is more or less the same. "I Can't Stay", on the other hand, "acoustics" beautifully and could become their "Don't Panic". "Neon Tiger" prominently showcases its guitars steeped in the eighties down to the last string ("I created it trying to write like MGMT", Brandon declared), "The World We Live In" is a typical radio episode and is a strong candidate to become a new hit for the band.

The true gem is hidden at the end of the tracklist: "Goodnight, Travel Well", written after a serious loss suffered by a band member, puts together, in just under seven minutes, all the best things produced by the underrated '80s, combining them with a Brandon Flowers in sumptuous vocal form.

The Killers, therefore, not only confirm themselves but position themselves as a leading band of American rock for the coming years.

For future works, as usual, the difficult verdict.

Key tracks: "Losing Touch", "Joy Ride", "I Can't Stay", "Goodnight, Travel Well"