Three listens in and some songs are still struggling for an identity, but it is overall quite cohesive. Some Brandon solo vibes, and even some Dire Straits in the mix.
Can’t touch the first two, but it is sitting better than it did after first listen. Still not as immediate as I’d hoped:
1. Hot Fuss
2. Sam’s Town
3. = Wonderful, Wonderful
3. = Imploding the Mirage
5. Battle Born
6. Day & Age
I’m also not as down on Battle Born as others. There’s some trash there, but Be Still, Deadlines & Commitments and Flesh & Bone are better than almost everything on D&A
Interesting how there are so many differing perspectives on TK, often with the 1-2 ballast of Hot Fuss and Sam’s Town being the common thread (but so often switching for many).
Hot Fuss got me into The Killers, and Mr. Brightside and All These Things That I’ve Done are unimpeachable. But Sam’s Town cemented my love.
Day & Age came at a moment of personal development and optimism and Battle Born a time where I needed resilience and strength. Both are special albums for me, even if they don’t reach the heights of the first two. I also love both of Brandon’s solo records as flourishes of The Killers’ canon.
Wonderful Wonderful felt like the first time they reached a real impasse. The band was fragmented and the sound on the album reflected that. The Man hinted at a less four-men-in-a-band approach whilst still achieving cohesion, but much of the rest of that album felt hollow. The exception being Some Kind of Love, which I’ve mentioned already in this thread, some time ago, as being my favourite song of all time.
So now, with ITM, it feels like Brandon and Ronnie have resolved in their minds how to proceed as an artistic union in a way that develops the cohesion of The Man and Brandon’s solo ventures. And by doing so, they’ve brought back some of the propulsion from earlier records that makes them ‘The Killers’, even if the make up of that unit has changed.
It gives me a lot of hope for the future, as you can tell Brandon and Ronnie are professionally committed to what they do. Being able to involve Mark in this—and potentially Dave in the future—while absorbing interesting collaborations seems like a good way forward for the band.
I believe Brandon is talented and genuinely creative enough to keep The Killers interesting for another decade. Given that my favourite artists to succeed my U2 fandom are The Killers, Coldplay and The National, I’m very grateful that an artist I love can continue to put out new music I’m genuinely excited by.
With all this said, I’m comfortable with the following as my rankings (and don’t see this changing now that ITM is out):
1. Sam’s Town
2. Hot Fuss
3. = Day & Age
3. = Battle Born
5. Imploding the Mirage
6. Wonderful Wonderful
