Imploding The Mirage

The Killers

Released on 8/21/20 by Island Records (The Island Def Jam Music Group / Universal Music)
Main artists: The Killers
Genre: Alternative & Indie

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The Killers have never been a band to do things by half, going all the way back to the arch '80s dancefloor drama of their 2004 debut Hot Fuss. Since then, they've evolved into a big—no, big isn't even a big enough word: massive, capacious, monumental—sound that evokes Bono waving the white flag or Springsteen throwing his Telecaster high above his head. Imploding The Mirage continues that grand tradition, with a few intriguing left turns. Opener "My Own Soul's Warning" starts off spacey and loose before breaking into a big, gorgeous keyboard landscape. "But then I thought I could fly/ And when I hit the ground/ It made a messed-up sound," Brandon Flowers wails in his no-rough-edges clarion call. (Applicable adjective: heart-rending.) "Blowback" gallops with horsepower. Lindsey Buckingham delivers showy guitar bombast on "Caution." "Dying Breed" steadily clicks along, factory-like, before kicking through the roof to expose the whole sky. The atmospheric allusions are apropos: The album was made in Flowers' adopted home state of Utah and the singer has said that, while recording, he noticed the "geography matching the sensation" of the music. It's all good, and energizing. But then something unexpected happens with the record. "Lightning Fields" is as huge as what precedes it, but riding a fascinating wave of moodiness and given lift by a k.d. lang guest vocal turn. "Fire in Bone" struts in on a funky bass, while Flowers tries out Talking Heads' new-wave angularity. Songs like "My God" and "When the Dreams Run Dry" show how the band's synth stylings—more prevalent here than in years—have drifted to dreamy new places. And when Flowers dons Bryan Ferry x Springsteen drag for the closing title track, hiccuping lines like "you were out there chewing fat for probable cause," it's damn fun. © Shelly Ridenour/Qobuz

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Imploding The Mirage

The Killers

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My Own Soul’s Warning

00:04:34

Emily Lazar, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Ariel Rechtshaid, Mixer, StudioPersonnel - Rob Moose, Strings, AssociatedPerformer - Brandon Flowers, Glockenspiel, Organ, Synthesizer, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Ronnie Vannucci, Drums, Percussion, AssociatedPerformer - The Killers, MainArtist - Shawn Everett, Producer, Mixer, Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Roger Manning Jr., Keyboards, AssociatedPerformer - Robert Root, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Chris Allgood, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Jonathan Rado, Producer, Cello, Guitar, Bass Guitar, Organ, Piano, AssociatedPerformer - Brian D'Addario, Acoustic Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Ivan Wayman, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Bobby Lee Parker, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer