The Killers have been controversial figures for me, their first album was one of the first in an onslaught of the return of the synthesizer in modern music. They are arguably one of the primary forces in modern contemporary music that energized me to go out and find out what was happening in the world of music these days. It was The Killers, Modest Mouse, Interpol, Franz Ferdinand, stellastarr*and The Faint that reminded me that good music is still being made out there, you just have to look beyond the top 40 sound and production style.
The Killer’s Hot Fuss was a smorgasbord of delicious pop music accessible to many, and delectable for me because of the focus on the use of the keyboard and post punky rhythms, plus a smidge of vocoder on “Smile Like You Mean It”. It sounds cliche, but I was definitely one of those people who “Liked them before they got really popular”, but I did, they opened for stellastarr* back in the day and I liked stellastarr* so I checked them out, and lo and behold they were pretty good. Their debut album stands as one of the biggest stylistic statements, and certainly one of the most commercially successful albums of the mid 2000′s that didn’t depend on a gutteral moan and drop d tuned plucking and grunging or power chords and a whiney voice echoing the frustrations of the pre-teen upper middle class. As that, they need to be commended, but somewhere along the way, they found themselves and mutated into a country/classic rock version of themselves leaving an army of fans saying “Bruce Springsteen?” and wishing for “David Bowie”. “Sam’s Town” wasn’t a bad album by any means, and stylistic progression is commendable. Novelty moustaches are always good for a laugh, but where are The Killers that stole my heart and my money to become one of the biggest bands in the world?
Those Killers stand poised to reclaim their throne, Brandon is de-moustached and once again clothed in lounge-chic sport coats and dress pants. They have a new single, and ,if anything, “Human” brings the electronics and dance beats back into play without sacrificing their newfound sound and Brandon’s new, more earnest, vocal style. This could be the second coming of The Killers. Brace yourselves, only time will tell.
The Killers – Human
The Rakes are set to release their third album entitled ‘KLANG’ on the 23rd of March and will release the album one week earlier (March 16) on 7″ and download through V2/Co-operative. The album was recored at Planet Roc Studios in Berlin by Chris Zane who has produced Les Savy Fav, The Walkmen and Passion Pit.
