On the Killers’ fifth studio album, ‘Wonderful Wonderful’, the Las Vegas natives open with the title track, which is a sprawling overture that recalls U2’s ‘Achtung Baby’ in its gritty, industrial production.
It’s a superb, bassy, scratchy tune that sensitively discusses bandleader Brandon Flowers’ wife’s complex PTSD. But the reality might be that - like the Killers’ output to date - they never surpass this early offering.
The comparison with U2 (and also Coldplay) is a necessary one: after their European counterparts, the Killers are among the most popular stadium rock bands around. Yet over the past 10 years a real ambivalence has developed in the way they are perceived.
One reason that abounds on 'Wonderful Wonderful’ is a lack of humour in their songwriting. Coldplay and U2 channel their ridiculousness with verve, whereas Flowers’ deadpan musical scherzos often feels disingenuous. Phoney, even.
Good examples of this include The Man, a grooving disco cut that recalls Maroon 5. Its white guy swagger is infectious, but it lacks a freshness, and is actually a less punchy version of an earlier Killers song, Joyride.
It also shares a cloying quality with power ballads Rut and Have All The Songs Been Written?. These songs are spiritually somewhere between Springsteen and a Budweiser beer commercial. They promote a version of sentimentality that tastes of marketing.
The Killers are still a great band, but they haven’t done anything new with this album, or the last two for that matter. What marks out U2 and Coldplay is actually how much those bands have developed; the rigour with which they try new things.
Coldplay were wet indie kids who have managed to infect the public consciousness through a combination of grit and imagination. U2 are political firebrands whose early brand of punk moralism fits a critical space in the Western consciousness. The question of quite what the Killers are for remains, and ‘Wonderful Wonderful’ does not answer it.
The Killers Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Mon November 06 2017 - BIRMINGHAM Genting Arena
Tue November 07 2017 - BIRMINGHAM Genting Arena
Fri November 10 2017 - NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE Metro Radio Arena
Mon November 13 2017 - MANCHESTER Arena
Tue November 14 2017 - MANCHESTER Arena
Thu November 16 2017 - DUBLIN 3Arena
Fri November 17 2017 - BELFAST SSE Arena Belfast
Sun November 19 2017 - LEEDS first direct Arena
Mon November 20 2017 - GLASGOW SSE Hydro
Tue November 21 2017 - ABERDEEN AECC BHGE Arena
Thu November 23 2017 - NOTTINGHAM Motorpoint Arena
Sat November 25 2017 - SHEFFIELD Sheffield Arena
Mon November 27 2017 - LONDON O2 Arena
Tue November 28 2017 - LONDON O2 Arena
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