The Killers

   I don't want to give away any spoilers, so I won't go into specifics. Not that there are any plot twists or anything, and not that it even has a plot. You just need to be born naked into it. Just listen to it, you'll maybe know what I mean.

   The Killers' new album, Battle Born, is absolutely gorgeous. It almost brought me to tears on several occasions. With a single couplet of lyric, they can absolutely break your heart. Or make you grin with how clever it is. Maybe both at the same time. I'm thinking of one instance in particular. The lyrics here are deftly woven, with a lot of nods that are a really cool bonus for native Nevadans. Battle Born. The free stream of the album at http://www.battleborn.fm/ certainly captures the "driving endlessly through the desert" aspect of it (it's more fun if you invite friends along for the listen!) This album transcends the genre, and even previous expectations of what the Killers, already renowned for their musical prowess, could do. It's going to define, in many minds, what the "Killers" sound is. Think, if Killers were U2, then this album is their Joshua Tree. Exactly that.

   With Hot Fuss, they started very brash, so it's sort of like had U2 skipped Boy and October and debuted with War. Well, not that. Debuted with War (Hot Fuss), then proceeded with the post-punk soundscapes of Boy (Sam's Town) then the slightly more minimalist and mellow October (Sawdust), dug deeper to find new inspiration with The Unforgettable Fire (Day & Age) and are now on the Joshua Tree, a continuation of the Americana themes explored in their previous album. Wow. It's almost eerie how well that works out.

   In fact, the parallels go beyond that: both of their guitarists are named Dave (Dave Keuning and Dave "The Edge" Evans) both of their drummers are named after their (somewhat wimpily named) fathers (Ronnie Vannucci Jr and Larry Mullen Jr) both of their bassists have... Biblical names? (Mark Stoermer and Adam Clayton)... and both of their frontmen are... shoot... outspoken Christians? With really soulful voices, too. Able to pack layers of emotion into their singing. Both bands are also published by Island Def Jam, but that's slightly more obvious.