The Beastie Boys always had New York City, and The Red Hot Chili Peppers have always had the state of California (and the female anatomy), The Killers have always staked their sound in and around the city of Las Vegas. Throughout their career, the band has aimed to convey the spirit of Vegas, and in a lot of ways they have succeeded. Through four albums the band has written big, glitzy songs that emit the same kind of grandiosity that the mythology surrounding the city inspires, revolving around themes that are both unapologetically glamorous and reveling in excess.
The Killers emerged in 2004 as one of the more radio friendly bands in the post-punk revival movement. Whereas Interpol’s catalogue has always contained melancholic songs and The Strokes’ sound has always leaned towards raw garage rock, The Killers have always written songs capable of reaching a wide audience. This has given them a staying power that has led to a dedicated fan base.
On Battle Born, the band’s fourth proper album (not counting Sawdust, a collection of B-sides and rarities), the band’s sound continues to combine danceable 80’s synth-pop and Born to Run era Springsteen anthems. The songs recall music from a bygone era with lyrics catering to the modern age. On “Here With Me,” vocalist Brendan Flowers sings, “I don’t want your picture on my cell phone, I want you here with me” over synth heavy music that sounds like it could have been the instrumental section to a ballad that INXS might have written in 1982.
While their music sometimes sounds a little too much like a journey back in time, the band is still able to make it their own, with a talent of defining themselves through the content of their songs. Tracks like “Flesh and Bone” and “Runaways” find the band crafting epic anthems with Flowers belting bittersweet lyrics dealing with his familiar takes on troubled romances and broken dreams while songs like “Deadlines and Commitments” speak to triumphing through hard times.
One of The Killers greatest talents is the capability to recognize the image that fans have carved out for them. Because of this, the band is not afraid to flaunt their niche of writing danceable arena anthems that first made them successful with “Mr. Brightside” and “Smile Like You Mean It.” The album may not see the band reinventing their sound but it does see them crafting strong songs in the vein of music that we have come to expect from them. The band is able to prove on Battle Born that sometimes working with an already established persona can be just as ambitious as trying to find a new one.