I was first introduced to the band The Killers in the eighth grade. I don’t know how anyone could not know who they are after they released their single “Mr. Brightside” off of their first studio album, “Hot Fuss.”
Believe it or not, I was not a big fan in the beginning. You really couldn’t turn on the radio without hearing that song. But now, nearly 10 years later, as The Killers release their fourth studio album, “Battle Born,” my love for them has only grown.
This will be the band’s first album together since 2008’s “Day & Age.” It was announced in 2010 they would take an indefinite hiatus to work on solo projects and take a break from touring.
Since 2003 when they first released “Hot Fuss” I’ve really grown to love them. But lead singer, Brandon Flowers’ solo work is what really drew me to the band and had me dying with anticipation for Battle Born to be released. (Side note: “Flamingo,” Flowers’ solo album, is well worth the download, listen, or purchase.)
In July they released their first single off the album, “Runaways,” about escaping from a troubled world with only your loved one by your side and what may result from that.
“Let’s take a chance baby we can’t lose/Mean we’re all just runaways/I knew that when I met you, I’m not going to let your runaway/I knew that when I held you, I wasn’t letting go.”
Easily one of the best tracks on the album, the video for “Runaways” features Flowers reminiscing on what seems like a fairly personal story. Whether it’s his own or a personal story or another band member’s is hard to tell.
The opening track on the album may drive some listeners away. “Flesh And Bone” isn’t the best, but it allows room for The Killers to grow throughout the rest of the album, which is fitting, considering it’s the story behind the band themselves. They’re a band of misfits coming together to create music.
The Killers, who hail from Las Vegas, Nev., can’t seem to shake their home turf from their latest album let alone their music.
Many critics have compared the groups work for this particular album with Bruce Springsteen and his ability to write lyrics based on his home of New Jersey. I have to agree and disagree to this comparison.
The Killers have a style of music much different from the Boss. Their music is more modernized which allows for the use of synthesizers and other such instruments.
However, both artists have the capability
to write music based on their hometowns by using references to actual places, creating characters and telling a story by painting a picture in the listener’s mind.
A noteable song off of the album that shows the true Vegas lights behind the Killers is brought to you by the time the third song, “The Way It Was,” begins to play.
“Somewhere outside the lonely Esmeralda county line/The question of my heart came to my mind.”
Flowers sings the song in a way that allows the listener to be there, in the moment and get completely swept away by the song.
“I remember driving/In my daddy’s car to the airfield/Blanket on the hood, backs against the windshield/Back then this thing was running on momentum, love and trust/That paradise is buried in the dust.”
The song certainly keeps the album going leaving any listener eager to hear more.
“Here With Me,” is where the lofty pitchs of Flowers’ voice are showcased and show his full vocal range.
The character in the song is reflecting back on a lost love, one that he or she will always be holding out for.
“Falling in love filled my soul with fright/You said ‘Come on babe, it’ll be all right’/I must have been a fool to the bitter end/Now I hold on to hope to have you back again.”
“A Matter Of Time” and “Deadlines And Commitments” seem to just be time fillers until reaching “Miss Atomic Bomb,” another song on the album that showcases the band’s background.
“When I look back on those neon nights/The leather seats, the passage rite/I feel the heat, I see the light.”
From there on out the album only gets better.
The record ends on an excellent note with the title track, “Battle Born.”
They don’t leave anything to chance on this song. The Killers lay it all out on the line expressing how faith can easily be lost and hopes and dreams can be destroyed.
“You lost faith in the human spirit/You walk around like a ghost/Your star-spangled heart/Took a train for the coast.”
The song goes on to explain through all the bad, eventually there will be good.
“You never know/If you never learn/You never shine/If you never burn/The rising tide/The undertow/The venom and/The overflow/You turn away/Welcome home.”
The bonus tracks are available by purchasing the deluxe edition of the album or through the individual purchase of the songs on iTunes.
A song worth taking a listen to is the last featured track, “Prize Fighter.” The song will make any girl swoon in hopes that the song is about them.
“She’s always on my side, rich or poor/And she’s with me all the way to the Golden Door/My lioness, my pièce de résistance/My only way.”
The album as a whole showcases the creativity of the music and lyrics behind The Killers.
Although it’s not their best work, the continuity of their album is similar to that of their previous works.
Not yet a fan of the band? Check out their first record, “Hot Fuss” and listen to the track “All These Things That I’ve Done,” for a better understanding of their work before delving into this “Battle Born.”
However, any Killers fan will more than likely enjoy this album. Splurge and purchase the deluxe edition. The album is well worth the buy.
Review by Savannah Sawyer, Assistant Features Editor.