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The Killers' Day And Age

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Early success can be a bitch sometimes. The Killers have always had a lot to live up to after they came out of the box, fully formed, on 2004's Hot Fuss, an irresistible razzle-dazzle debut.

Hot Fuss will pay Brandon Flowers and company's bills for years to come. Yet it's also an album that could have fans bugging him in restaurants asking: "How come you can't write a song as good as Mr Brightside anymore?"

The Killers' 2006 second album, Sam's Town, didn't help. No longer content to make the dancefloor quake with dandyish fashionista charm and neon beats, main songwriter Flowers wanted to connect emotionally.

He wanted to make Big Statements along the lines of Bruce Springsteen and U2 (tellingly, Flood and Alan Moulder, both of whom had worked with U2, helped produce). Sam's Town saw Flowers cranking up the epic storytelling like a man constantly watching The Grapes Of Wrath while Springsteen's The River played in the background.

Day And Age isn't just The Killers' best album. It's one of the best records of 2008.

Such grand ambition can sometimes be folly, especially when scale obscures eloquence. And detractors duly complained that Sam's Town saw The Killers losing the plot.

As a transition album, Sam's Town did some heavy lifting, and at least proved The Killers were not going to rehash the winning formula of Hot Fuss. In interviews, Brandon Flowers even claimed they wanted to be "the next U2."

Here's the thing, though: with Day And Age The Killers exhibit the smarts to pull off that leap into mega-stardom.

Day And Age: album of the year?

The Killers' Day And Age has all bases covered. It captures the emotional anxiety of late 2008 with a startling directness. There's also plenty of rocking, stomping beats to fill dancefloors. And there are melodies to fill your head and invade your soul.

Produced by Stuart Price of Les Rythmes Digitales, it's full of buzzing horns, glorious synth atmospherics, gargantuan guitar breaks and epic impulses.

Day And Age isn't just The Killers' best album, it's one of the best records of 2008.

Day And Age is released 24 November (25 Nov, US).

Here's MusicRadar's exclusive review.

The Killer's Day And Age: track-by-track

Losing Touch
A rousing Bowie-like groove driven by honking saxophones and ping-ponging keyboards that kicks things into high gear. Brandon Flowers' voice is smooth and full as he intones "You made your home/ and you made your way back home/ like a roving vagabond, I'm losing touch." Dave Keuning makes his presence felt with a soaring guitar lead.

Dave Keuning makes his presence felt with a soaring guitar lead.

Human
A gentle, phased, clicky guitar riff opens this gorgeous nod to the gentle side of '80s new wave. "Cut the cord/ are we human/ my sign is virtual/and my hands are cold/ are we human, or are we dancer?" Flowers asks in a plaintive, melancholy manner. Then the song gallops off into a Cure-meets-U2 arena shaker.