the killers - are they killer?

Only in the hipster blogosphere.

Then they sounded like Shed 7. Not killer.

Although it is quite amusing to imagine a group of lads in Las Vegas being all "God, it sucks round here. It's just so, like, plastic. It's just for the tourists. I bet in YORK there are REAL people who have the coolest time. God, man, I wish we lived in York."

The Killers / Longwave / Stellastarr* = all US bands that plunder 80s epic Brit/ Irish big rock sound.

Cactus World News in the 80s were the masters of the big epic rock sound - these new bands fall way short of the blueprint.

U2
The Psychedelic Furs

They're American?!

i'm surprised they've managed to draw such polarising opinions from people. judging by their inoffensive style of music, i thought they would've been met largely with indifference or faint praise at best.

stephin meritt wrote an article for the new york times featuring them called "music that's oh so stupid yet oh so smart" and i think that description is in the ballpark.

The 1984 Midge Ure era (i.e. "One Small Day," etc.), even more sadly.

Oh, the album is well fine. Both my kids now go round singing "I've got a soul but I'm not a soldier" now. Which can only be a good thing.

The inclusion of the gospel choir in that song has to be the single most annoying thing I've heard all year.

No, wait, "Indie Rock & Roll" is.

The Killers bigger than Marion?
BRMC 'bigger' than JMC? (for a while)

Both bands are not undeserving, but are still 'lite' versions of the originals (although I don't know 'marion' enough to say they weren't 'lite')

They even beat early Marion stuff in my book, though I'm glad I'm not the only one who spotted the connection.

Global nuwave poprock, local media habits, my mom, me, & u

Hovering around 20 in the UK album charts is a drab pop-punky nu-wave band from Las Vegas named the Killers. . Apparently I need to crawl out from beneath the rock I live under, bcz I know this only bcz my mom sent me (as in: an envelope with a stamp on it, how quaint) (also, I was hoping it was a check) a clipping from the Des Moines Register’s style section from early July about them.

I grew up with the guitar player, Dave, in a small Iowa town. I wasn’t friends with him, but I knew him. He was quiet, and big into Smashing Pumpkins. You’d never know it from his current band but he could TOTALLY SHRED, too, such a shame. I went off to college and the last I heard he was jobbing in a Christian grunge band out of Newton. And now there he is with Strokes hair, a sportcoat, and tennis bracelets. They grow up so fast!

The online article has of course been ecto-trapped in the Register’s pay vaults, which is too bad, cos besides the obligatory local-boy-make-good angle I’d like for you all to see the hint of the contempt that the Des Moines media holds for Pella, the town I’m from. It’s not wholly accurate to describe Pella as an insular, conservative, religious community of Dutch Protestants, cos Dave and I are from there and are not that, but it’s fair enough. Pella is tacky and touristy as well (Register "critic" Kyle Munson sagely noted “omg, so is Vegas, weird!”), known state-wide for riding a theme-park version of its 19th cent. Dutch immigrant history to the bank every year. So poor nascent rockstar Dave had to answer eye-rollers like whether he’s ever worn wooden shoes and what his favorite pastries are. Well DUH of course he did; in grade school marching in the Tulip Time parades is MANDATORY. And Dave diplomatically mentions something from both the town’s bakeries, same as everyone else would. Don’t you media people know anything? More to the point, do you think that by broadcasting your dislike for this odd, churchy, nasty little burg you’ll somehow make living in fucking Des Moines any better? Get over it! (cue you: “yes geoff get over it”)

Now, if any other publication on earth had thought to ask a musician on his/her preferences in wooden footwear or pastry it would be a sorta-funny dadaist jab (and megawierd coincidence in Dave’s case, since he’d actually have an answer). But for the Register it’s just pro-forma and sad. See, I could win a Pulitzer or go to jail for planting an unsolicited kiss on Barack Obama (both are in the works, mind), and the Register would be on the phone asking a “Pella boy” about the klompen and the pofertjes.

Anyway I listened to a few clips on the Killers’ website and they suck. Good luck Dave!

Marion being an influence on anybody hurts my brain. And I don't even mind Marion much.

now that's funny.

having always found morrissey and merritt highly overrated i am pleased to hear of their being implicated in this horrible, horrible alterna-fiasco. it's hard for me to believe some of the praise isn't people joking around. this is probably the worst shit i have ever heard in my life and i'm not kidding.
the way he says "potential" or whatever in that video is full-on fucking hilarious.

Oftentimes, I'm willing to forgive otherwise dreadful ticks in songs that make me tap my foot without thinking about it. Let go of your anger!

as another Dutch Protestant from the Southwest i'm afraid it simply will not be possible in this case. this is a transparent masquerade of a band, and though seeded in probably legitimate desperation, i will not personally be able get past the basic (and super-unsuccessful) ludicrousness of the approach.
i bet i like tons of stuff it will otherwise get lumped in with, but that always happens.
hey i also did happen to mention it's very, very funny... and meant it.

Yes, isn't that peculiar? I've got several examples of this sort of thing happening to myself, but can't explain why.

i have to write about these guys this weekend. they're okay. they get played a lot at work. they stike me as the manifestation of a cardinal music industry rule.

the first the Killers NME front cover

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

I am loving this album. They are best when they embrace anthemic ridiculousness <3

OTM. Though for me it falls in a strange void, great while I'm listening to it but not great enough that I'm actually going to listen to it. I should tell people in my house just to put it on occasionally.

i put some more jameson into my carcass and then posted this to the youtube electic blue cover comments. i think i'm pretty otm:

why is this awesome? it's awesome because it's true. brandon earned that smile at the end. there are more obscure songs to choose which could have shown his taste and erudition concerning forgotten culture and more obvious songs that SCREAMED i'm so 80s in a way that is still in the water today but this is the sweet spot - this is what the airwaves were like at the time. what, brandon was six when this came out?

icehouse fans, don't get me wrong, i'm not saying this is lesser 80s bobka. by way of example, on my computer, inxs' don't change shows up per algorithm on my screen. that's a great 80s song, also one of the best songs of all time. actually the greatest song of all time. brandon should cover that. it should be a constitutional amendment that brandon should cover that. however, anyone knows the greatness of don't change. electric blue, and go with me on this, some people weren't there at the time. or else they forgot. brandon has the genius to know, he knows.

what i'm saying, is some things are great because they are timeless, but timelessness loses out in the end because it belongs to everyone and to all times. this is so of its time, and we are edified when someone brings that time back into the light. thank you brandon for being that light.

a bit effusive, but i stand by my sentiment. duchamp says something something something abt an artist pointing at something and whatever. this was a great thing. it's a great thing.

brandon flowers is a cool dork. thrre are nerds, and geeks, but those are defined by their mastery. dorks are enthusiasts, they love love love things. the strokes were music nerds, they killers were music dorks. all hail the dorks.

it's like a duchamp readymade, the purest distillation of a readymade in the history of art. there it is, the thing. lookit. lookit the thing, it's awesome. did you lookit before? no, but lookit.

are you hiding, somewhere behind those eyes

goddam, that's so sweet and innocent. the best and most overlooked lyric in pop. bam! there it is. brandon delivers it like it was nothing.

also, heart emoticon to alfred, indisputably the greatest 80s stan in the known universe.

long story short: this caught my attention and i reacted favorably.

also it just occurred to me to look up don't change and the killers so there it is. did the best person in the world, brandon flowers, cover the best song in the world, don't change? it's as obvious as, randomly for example, i wondered if the best person in the world, kermit the frog, also covered the best song in the world, once in a lifetime. yes, they did.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAqcpc4e6hU