The Killers have still been dominating the guitar scene since their first big start back in the 00’s. Despite not reaching those heights in quality of yesteryear since the turn of the previous decade, you always have to hear out to see what’s next by Brandon Flowers and co.
Their 6th album does offer a lot to show off their talent, however that craftsmanship is the only thing that is present here and will not excite many people, except for people who are interested in what the group are still doing. There are a lot of external contributions to this record which is actually rather interesting, hearing the other songwriters nuances is fun to listen to and point out. Overall, we find The Killers sounding their most assured and calm in years, with bringing their love of arena rock and synth rock to the fray in a solid way.
‘My Own Soul’s Warning’ opens the LP with such a broad and epic sound that blends a great synth hook with a Bruce esq swagger, which will be a great opening song for their rescheduled world tour. It’s the synth hook that is so catchy and pulls the song along well as the vocal melody of Brandons, isn’t as interesting as it could be. The country rock esq ‘Blockback’ is a highlight on the album, it has a lovely melody and loving backing vocals in the verses.
‘Dying Breed’ has many contributions and you can hear the Aussie songwriter, Alex Cameron, impact on the track (which I am all here for). The song starts with a building tension with a slight synth sound that opens up delightfully, while the guitar playing is eventually sent free to become another Bruce inspired hook! What is so sad to say though after the dramatic start, the chorus that we are finally greeted with, leaves you a but underwhelmed…we move on.
The first single off Imploding Mirage follows and my god this is something the stans will enjoy! ‘Caution’ has that classic US/UK rock sound that The Killers introduced themselves with but bringing their love of 80’s synth to coat it with something else. The bass line is brilliant on this track and with most of their music, the drumming is on point. ‘Lightning Fields’ features Canadian singer k.d. lang and she really does sound great in this piano pop song, sadly it is not that memorable about it.
The bass line again is strong in the heavy 80’s film credit esq ‘Fire in Bone’, which must of come from a Peter Gabriel manuscript. ‘Running Towards A Place’ is a great track name and has a melody that reminds me of one of their albums, Day & Age. It does get to this point that you feel like the band are just wanting to cruise along with their influences and dust it with their style, not really offering much to think this was thoughtful or interesting.
Miraaageeee…after miraaageee comes from the Weyes Blood featuring number called ‘My God’. The chorus is subtle but becomes an area rock sounding one, a real treat does come along here for our ears! ‘When the Dreams Run Dry’ is another Cameron track which features the synth sounds that we heard on his own previous work, the LP ‘Miami Memory’. It it slow and dramatic with a great synth horn sound that lingers around until we hear Genesis like precussion, a really strong one here. ‘Imploding Mirage’ finishes with the song of the same name, that has some great vocals by Brandon and its a really fun number!!! For some reason it sounds like it should the music to finish a rare good ending in Stranger Things? Overall the song really shows off how strong the band as it has great rhythm and some nice guitar licks that come along so nicely.
‘Imploding The Mirage’ is out now and The Killers will hopefully be on tour next year with some really big shows. What did you think of the record?
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