By Matt Kanitra
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Seemingly confused with success, Brandon Flowers has led The Killers down an unexpected path with its fourth studio album “Day & Age.” This album could just have easily been the second disc had “Hot Fuss” been released as a double CD. It lacks all of the development that “Sam’s Town” contained, but this is not to say that it is all bad.  Ignoring chronological idiosyncrasies, “Day and Age” is an enjoyable listen, but it’s not the band’s best work.

It is not obvious what its intentions were when The Killers decided on the feel for their next album.  The band could have been potentially making a move to consolidate their fan base they established with “Hot Fuss” or simply they wanted to create an album that contrasted “Sam’s Town” as much as possible. The only thing that can be definitely said is that The Killers have returned to its roots.

When Flowers chose to re-establish the band’s influences, he went back to the band’s hometown of Las Vegas to get a more glitz and glam feel for their music (as if the song “Neon Tiger” isn’t a big enough giveaway). Even the main lyric of the synthesizer-laden song “Human,” “Are we human or are we dancer?” is reminiscent of all the shows in Vegas.

The Killers deserve credit for not falling victim to a common problem that bands face on their later albums, which I call an “empty album.” This happens when a band puts out a new album whose only good point is its single with 10 other songs that it happened to record the same week.  The Killers made sure that it came through on each of its songs, instead of only focusing on its singles “Human” and “Spaceman.”

The album, which comes in at almost 42 minutes, finishes too early for my liking.  Individually, I love all of the songs with the exception of “Joy Ride,” which is an epic failure that is reminiscent of terrible waiting room music of the ‘90s.  “Losing Touch” starts the album off amazingly, and “A Dustland Fairytale” helps make up for the aforementioned atrocity.

Regardless of individual success, the album lacks cohesiveness. Placing their weakest song, “Joy Ride,” as the fourth song ruins all of the build-up that the beginning of an album produces and then leaves you in a bad mood for the rest.

Some people may feel that Flowers’ lyrics are repetitive and just a way to write an album before he was ready. His repetition is not a space-filler, but rather a mechanism to help his songs and album gain some flow. It also produces songs that can actually tell a story while keeping the quick tempo that is associated with The Killers.

Independently, “Day & Age” is a very good album, but it is not stellar enough to overcome its faults.  The lack of flow throughout the album tarnishes multiple songs that otherwise would be shining gems.  The Killers should have followed the path that was laid before it with its previous albums instead of forging off on their own through the bush.

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