the killers - are they killer?

it's like they finally completed the killers mentaculus by locating all the correct/desired references but they're TOO in love with them to keep me immersed, or something like that

hmmm

i don't think the last four tracks are quite as good as the first six but it's all good-to-great

not that i want to do this, but I mean what the heck does the title even mean? a mirage ain't nothing but illusion, so is imploding a mirage supposed to mean collapsing a nothing back into a nothing?

seems like something a stoned 14-year old with a thesaurus would come up with when trying to generate a profundity? actually, yes, that is probably what the title is supposed to mean because 'stoned 14-year old with a thesaurus trying to generate profundity' is a explanation of this album.

alternatives title ideas: anti-hologram, phenomenology of nothing

the mirage is a casino in las vegas. casinos are often demolished through implosion cf. the aladdin

i mean they probably are also gesturing at some metaphysical meaning but it really only makes sense literally

i saw an interview where flowers explained that it's a metaphor for his move away from las vegas but also the main theme of the album is something about helping his wife with her struggles with ptsd

this is the guy who gave us "are we human or are we dancer" so im honestly not looking for a lot of meaning

he also said in that interview that they've already made major progress on their next album while in quarantine

y'all

we're debating Killers lyrics and intentions

Anyway, these are the songs I'd keep.

Nice review!

The Desired Effect is such an overlooked album

it was the first properly good brandon flowers album, this one's the second

"dying breed" does the krautrock springsteen thing better than any war on drugs song. i do kinda wish "lightning fields" stuck with its blue nile first minute instead of turning into a joshua tree-era u2 song. the end result is still good but what could have been!

It won't be long before "My God" become my favorite Killers song; that is, if "Running Toward a Place" doesn't catch up.

it was the first properly good brandon flowers album, this one's the second

― ufo

I was just going to ask about this. I've never really liked much for the band at all but The Desired Effect was brilliant. I listened to the last album hoping it would be more of the same but it didn't do anything for me. I guess I'll have to give this one a go.

this album doesn't really have the same synth-dominated sound as the desired effect but it's another album of brandon flowers at his best so if you liked that one i'd expect there's probably a lot to like here too

https://www.nme.com/news/music/the-killers-to-release-another-new-album-in-2021-it-might-be-better-than-this-one-2735596

it's cool they're working with the same producers for their next album, they really seemed to have made a difference for this one so i'm looking forward to more

this album is very produced by jeff lynne without having been produced by jeff lynne

Lynne in 1990

oh yeah that's what i meant

i like this album quite a bit but can't really get into either of the side enders ("lightning fields," title track) yet. "dying breed," "caution," "fire in bone," "running towards a place," "when the dreams run dry"... all pretty staggering

Somehow Big Arena Rock and Roll finally coming down to a semi-self-tortured Mormon who can't decide what to do with himself in creeping middle age is a little too on the nose for mainstream America's self image as a whole, really.

I mean it doesn't not sound like recent Foxygen

(from what I half remember)

some thoughts

1. this is the first Killers album i can enjoy without embarrassment
2. this is the best Killers album because it just sounds like the really good Brandon Flowers solo lp
3. they are covering more bases than the dnc with these guests here - and covering Neu! and Can in one song? come on guys - but then i'm pleased Mr Rother gets some royalty cash
4. they're best when they're not being subtle about who they're cribbing from
5. jonathan rado continues to prove himself to be grrrreat
6. given whose sound it's cribbing, calling that song Running Towards A Place is ON THE NOSE GUYS
7. the Triffids / Big Country / U2 / Tears For Fears bits are better than the attempted springsteen bits
8. they still need to remove the anthemic wannabe gospel sections
9. if you'd told me that from the class of 2001ish, in 2020 i'd be enjoying the Killers more than any semi-recent work from The Strokes, Interpol and the rest of the gang, i would have been fairly surprised
10. i've had a lot of coffee but probably stand by all of the above

11. not sure how it's possible to have consistently terrible lyrics but good songwriting... but he seems to succeed on every track here

Don’t listen to the lyrics baby we’re a dying breeeeeed

12. if you folks fancy more semi anthemic springsteen-ish business (feat Brandon + Rado), that last Alex Cameron LP may be your bag

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmlEM--lmdo

they are covering more bases than the dnc with these guests here - and covering Neu! and Can in one song?

I'm relieved I wasn't crazy when I pointed out in my review that I heard "Moonshake."

( i meant sampling obviously - not covering )

Assuming they did sample and not just copy, the audacity of doing so with both Can and Neu! on the same track is something, and perhaps one of the most unexpected places to hear that since the Kanye West album that sampled Can.

the credited samples on "dying breed" are "moonshake" and "hallogallo", i think they might have layered the motorik beats from both?

9. if you'd told me that from the class of 2001ish, in 2020 i'd be enjoying the Killers more than any semi-recent work from The Strokes, Interpol and the rest of the gang, i would have been fairly surprised

yeah it's bizarre, the last good album before this by any of those sort of bands was comedown machine. really never would have expected they'd have an album as good as this in them

Never been a fan beyond their first two singles, but I gave this a spin because of all the talk. It was OK but honestly the title track was the only thing that made me look up. And I guess people who like the album don't like the title track? To me it's a kind of perfect '80s movie soundtrack pastiche, like Bryan Adams singing with Tom Tom Club or something.

I saw the Killers at Bonnaroo a few years ago, they put on a good show and the crowd was definitely into it — I was honestly kind of surprised how many songs most people seemed to know. Brandon Flowers is such a weird presence. He totally had star quality on stage, but it was more like late-night talk-show host star quality than rock star quality.

I saw them open for Morrissey in a small club, shortly after the debut was picking up steam. The only thing I remember about it was one of the Killers' amps bursting into flame.

I love the title track.

It definitely jumped out at me as significantly different enough in tone or approach or whatever that I was glad to discover it was the last track. Like, I dunno, "Love Makes the World Go Round" on "True Blue" or something. Or sonically akin to Ric Ocasek writing for Broadway.

Feels like it really hits its '80s stride with "Lightning Fields." "Fire In Bone" mines the same nebulous Rorschach references as the 1975, imo (is that Wang Chung I'm supposed to think of? because that's what I'm hearing tonight.)

And yeah, as far as anthemic camp goes, "My God" is the best, and probably would have made a good final track, because how do you beat that?

Probably the first Killers album I've enjoyed all of, though I think Battle Born came close

Can't wait for the remix album (Imploding the Bellagio) and deluxe edition (Imploding Luxor)

I knew these fuckers would eventually cover it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHn_wrST3_Q

oh god i could kiss them

this is so good!!
actual studio performance vid here

https://youtu.be/ey_j7-wIo4U

holy shit, no shame

In a good way!

Live: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ey_j7-wIo4U

I watched this clip 10 times before bed.

sigh, so excellent

https://www.instagram.com/p/CJHbOJOlp-9/

that new album they were talking about might be on its way even sooner than expected?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y020G_d8QHU

new song, an Imploding the Mirage outtake. it's pretty good and interestingly off-kilter for them. really lovely arrangement too

"there's dignity in calloused hands" lol this guy.

they had me up until the gospel choir