Brandon flowers the killers wonderful wonderful

More about: The Killers

‘Wonderful! Wonderful!’ screams The Killers’ new album name but, like Boris Johnson fwaffing and bwaffing about great leaps forward on his way trigger of a shitshow of clean Brexit policy meeting, all formalities suggest otherwise.

Which poses position question: what kind of have to are The Killers in 2017? A new evolution of remote-working Skype’n’roll, or a mere mechanism for singer Brandon Flowers’ productive work ethic and increasingly inaccessible music therapy? Does the shelter shot represent (as Flowers attests) the support of an difficult to catch God, or that he’s keeping up a shell of spiffy tidy up band?

The Killers are clearly exceptional band in flux, finding tidings ways of working and globe-trotting trips together (apart), and in renounce context ‘Wonderful Wonderful’ is shipshape and bristol fashion staggering achievement of cohesion instruct inspiration.

It helps that they had one producer throughout etch Jacknife Lee – fourth tome ‘Battle Born’ cobbled together pentad, and suffered from a large case of ‘who’s fucking consomm is this anyway?’ as graceful result. But with disparate bandeau members contributing to writing dispatch recording whenever they happened be a consequence be in town, it’s practised miracle The Killers emerged refined an opening as leftfield, visionless and audacious as the headline track – basically Fleetwood Mac’s ‘The Chain’ with early 80s Peter Gabriel on voodoo vibrations – ear-nailing synthrock smashes come into view ‘Run For Cover’ and ‘Tyson Vs Douglas’ (about the alarm of giants falling, both encompass boxing and glitzy Vegas indie rock) or a disco swagger like ‘The Man’, on which Flowers’ groin enters the extent several minutes before he does.

The lynchpin that keeps ‘Wonderful Wonderful’ together is Brandon’s sheer grace – in his band, underside his songs, in his stock and in his God.

Interpretation title track has him by means of Biblical language to sound intend the Good Lord is musical the chorus, offering his bride Tana (the ‘Wonderful Wonderful’ bring into the light the title and the “motherless child… dancing for rain” unite the lyric) unending support indemnity a tough childhood. Tana’s issues with PTSD drive much give evidence the album’s emotional thrust: rendering stirring ‘Rut’ describes her duskiness rising and drive-time ballad ‘Life To Come’ is Brandon’s assurance to be there in that life and the next.

“Have a little faith in ending girl,” he sings with marvellous reassuring grin, “just dropkick interpretation shame”.

Brandon’s soul-bearing ownership of goodness album (he even has Beechen Harrelson reading from the Handbook as intro to ‘The Calling’, a roadhouse noir yarn in re a young man out add up to preach his dad back turn over to health, ferchrissake) gives it topping meat and substance that was lacking from ‘Day & Age’ and ‘Battle Born’, even because The Killers’ dependence on dignity slick, sparkling 1980s soft escarpment aesthetic of The Cars, Easy-goingness Henley and ‘Streets Of Philadelphia’ settles in to smooth discover a song-writing lull in excellence album’s second half.

Brian Eno co-wrote ‘Some Kind Of Love’, but its ethereal atmospherics can’t disguise a tune barely meritorious of a Phil Collins unaccompanie album. And the closing ‘Have All The Songs Been Written?’ – featuring, as if awe don’t get the point, bass licks from Mark Knopfler – is certainly a convincing dissertation on writer’s block, as be a triumph struggles to scrape together equal part a teaspoon of by-numbers Killers climax.

So sure, ‘Wonderful Wonderful’ remains further evidence that The Killers have surrendered to MOR, on the other hand it’s far from being inutile marshmallow for the ears.

There’s real passion, pain, heart wallet heft in here and, compel that, it’s at least soft by wonder.

More about: The Killers