Picture this: a little girl out on a boating day with her family. While she doesn’t have a phone, she grabs her mom’s and plays her favorite song on repeat until someone calls her out for having listened to the same song over and over again.
The song is “Human” by The Killers and the little girl is me.
From a young age, I’ve been a fan of The Killers’ alternative, synth-rock style. Brandon Flowers, the band’s lead singer, has a unique voice and The Killers’ music just has such a great vibe to it.
On Aug. 21, The Killers released their sixth studio album, “Imploding the Mirage,” a 10-song album that really embalms the transition period the band has been going through since their lead guitarist, Dave Keuning, left in 2017. While the album is the band’s first album without Keuning, that authentic The Killers sound and feel emanates throughout the entire album.
The album starts off with the song “My Own Soul’s Warning,” which has quickly made its way to the mainstream, being repeatedly aired on alternative music stations like 104.3 The Shark. While the song is catchy and reminds me of “When You Were Young” off the album “Sam’s Town,” “Blowback,” the second track on the album, is a female-empowering song about a girl who has been through lots of struggles in her life, but is now aware of her potential, impact and higher self — a type of confidence every woman should have. With lyrics like “But she’s gonna break out, boy, you’d better know that / It’s just a matter of time / She fights back,” you’ll definitely find yourself feeling stronger after just one listen.
“Caution,” the fourth track, gives you relaxed summertime vibes, which quickly pick up in the chorus with lyrics like, “I’m throwing caution / What’s it gonna be? / Tonight the winds of change are blowing wild and free.”
Moving along, “Fire in Bone” is the fifth track on the album and is a song you can just sway to, whether you’re listening to it as background noise or giving it your full attention. Like many other songs on the album — if not every single song — “Fire in Bone” is a song that makes you want to sing and makes you feel like you’re the main character in your story.
Another great song on the album is “Running Towards a Place.” A little more upbeat, this song perfectly captures love and choosing to love someone and meet in the middle. With lyrics “Can you find heaven in a wildflower / Hold it in the palm of your hand? / The moment we met / Burst like a star / Onto the canvas of the skyline, purple and gold / We’re in this together, I ain’t never letting go,” you’ll be feeling the power of love and thinking of a special someone.
The final two songs on the album, “When The Dreams Run Dry,” and the title track, “Imploding The Mirage,” are also great songs that make you just want to sing and dance along. “When The Dreams Run Dry” has a lot of soul, starting off slow and picking itself up as the song and lyrics progress. “Imploding The Mirage” perfectly encapsulates who The Killers are and how unique their music style is.
My favorite thing about The Killers is that their music is completely their own and can be easily recognized. When they released their 2017 album, “Wonderful Wonderful,” while there were songs I did like on the album, it was not my favorite. However, I’ve absolutely loved every song on “Imploding The Mirage.” If you’re a fan of The Killers, — or just indie music, in general — I recommend you not only listen to this album, but add it to the albums that could be a perfect soundtrack to your life. Seriously, it’s that good.
