Review: The Killers Day & Age

The Killers
Day & Age

On the album's lead single, "Human," Brandon Flowers asks life's most pressing question, "Are we human/Or are we dancer?" I'm pretty sure the Killers are both. Their beloved first album, "Hot Fuss," was definitely dancer, with all of its bubbly '80s synths. Their generally behated (except my me) second album, "Sam's Town," tried to be human, in a we-think-we're-Bruce-Springsteen sort of way.

On "Day & Age," the Las Vegas quartet tries to strike a balance between the two. While the songs definitely skew dance-y, they are less produced and calculated than their debut. This works marvelously on the first three tracks, but is then absolutely derailed by the hideous "Joy Ride" and its accompanying saxophone solo.

The rest of the record is pretty uneven. While "The World We Live In" is quite endearing, "This is Your Life" sounds like an outtake from the Peter Gabriel catalog, and that awful saxophone reappears in "I Can't Stay." Equal parts hit and miss, "Day & Age" shows the poor Killers are still trying to figure out who they are.

The Killers - Spaceman [MP3]

For fans of: The Bravery, Hot Hot Heat
Rating: 2.5 of 4