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The Killers’ new album brings synth-pop back

The Killers’ new album was released on Sept. 22. (Courtesy of Stereogum)

Emily Toomey
Connector Staff

The Killers have just released their fifth studio album, “Wonderful Wonderful.” The band played on more emotional lyrics while using an electronic vibe to help lighten the mood. This album digs deeper than their other work by experimenting with a new sound and lyrical style.

Their new style certainly takes influence from ’80s synth-pop style music and transports the listener back in time.

The first single released was titled “The Man.” It is one of the more upbeat tracks on the album. The beat starts off with an intergalactic vibe then transitioning to a more familiar electronic beat.

The lyrical style of the track creates a sense of ease. The chorus, “I’m the man, come around nothing can break, nothing can break me down,” provides a sense of power to the album overall. Singer Brandon Flowers is chanting with a sense of confidence that oozes into the track. By the end he powerfully sings, “Who’s the man? Who’s the man?

I’m the man! I’m the man!” This track holds true to its core values on empowerment without over doing it. “The Man” allows the listener to become pumped up for what is to come next on the record.

“Run for Cover” is the album’s second single, and it is one of the heaviest songs lyrically on the album. This track is very reminiscent of their “Sam’s Town” days, and incorporates a familiar new wave revival sound to it. The song focuses on the aspect of domestic abuse with the lyrics, “It’s hard to pack the car when all you do is shame us, it’s even harder when the dirtbag’s famous.”

The lyrics to this song emotionally appeal to the listener. The chorus allows the track to have a slightly less dark tone overall with, “Run for cover, run while you can, baby, don’t look back,” being the main message to the track.

The ease of the chorus helps keep the upbeat vibe to -est songs lyrically on the album. This track is very reminiscent of their “Sam’s Town” days, and incorporates a familiar new wave revival sound to it.

The song focuses on the aspect of domestic abuse with the lyrics, “It’s hard to pack the car when all you do is shame us, it’s even harder when the dirtbag’s famous.” The lyrics to this song emotionally appeal to the listener. The chorus allows the track to have a slightly less dark tone overall with, “Run for cover, run while you can, baby, don’t look back,” being the main message to the track. The ease of the chorus helps keep the upbeat vibe to the track.

The track “Some Kind of Love” puts a simpler spin to a traditional love song. The song sticks to their electronic routes, but the lyrics give the track its special flare. The track starts off at a slower pace, beginning with, “You got the will of a wild bird. You got the faith of the child before the world gets in.”

The slow pop melody allows Flowers’ lyrics to echo off his mouth with grace. The song then picks up ever so slightly with the chorus repeating, “You’ve got some kind of love,” over and over again as he begins to sing more passionately. The ending verse finishes off the song beautifully with the lyrics, “Can’t do this alone we need you at home. There’s so much to see we know that you’re strong.” The simplicity of the song allows the lyrical content to show its true beauty.

Overall, this album stands out as something uniquely different from The Killers. They have experimented with musical styles from the 80s in a lighthearted way and it paid off. They took a risk with more emotional lyrics but balanced it with an ease of simplicity. Each track stands out on their own as something different from the last while still providing a nice flow. This album may not be pleasing to all fans of The Killers, but it holds its ground as a stand-alone album.

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