Buy Killers - Sawdust
The Killers' newest offering, "Sawdust," features a collection of remixes, covers and B-sides. The album is for devout fans only, as any listener can tell why many of these tracks should have remained shelved where they belong.
The massive stadium sound which defined the band on their first two albums and won them so many fans is clearly absent on "Sawdust." For the most part, Brandon Flowers & Co. have traded their fun, upbeat dance rock for midtempo mediocrity. Flowers still writes songs about pretty girls throwing their lives away as well as anyone, but his delivery just sounds bored this time around. His band mirrors this sentiment. There is barely any guitar and virtually no fills. The bass typically sticks to playing the root over the simplest changes, and the drums do little more than keep time. One common thread in most of the Killers' hits, the keyboard, is also underused in the few tracks on which it is used at all.
In such a musical vacuum, Flowers would have free run to let his voice take charge, but he squanders his opportunity. The remix of "Mr. Brightside" is a perfect example. The song is essentially the same, but slowed down with clunkier instrumentals and lazy vocals. Flowers sings as if he knows that he's on a sinking ship. While not a bad vocalist, on "Sawdust" Flowers limits himself to a small range and smaller scope. He never quite attains the hurried, passionate delivery he employed so well on "Hot Fuss." Rather, he lags behind the music on nearly every track and indolently slides into the correct tones.
The ballads are similar let-downs. Even if the Killers are going for a "stripped down" sound, something still has to stand out. The album has the feel of a work in progress throughout, as if each song is still waiting for a riff, a surprise, maybe lyrics about anything beside lost twentysomethings. As they are, these songs are remarkably bare. Each one is little more than a repetitive beat, a boring bass and Flowers' apathy. Sometimes there is guitar.
Essentially, the band fakes its way through 17 tracks, introducing boring new material and wrecking both their own hits and the songs of other bands. In fact, the best track on "Sawdust" might be "Romeo and Juliet," a cover of the Dire Straights song, familiar to all "Empire Records" fans.
Shame on The Killers for releasing such trash to make money. The material on "Sawdust" is not merely disappointing; it's downright bad. "Daddy's Eyes" is the only Killers track worth your money or time. The title of the album only highlights the fact that these songs are useless remnants from actual work.
Buy Killers - Sawdust
01 Tranquilize
02 Shadowplay
03 All The Pretty Face
04 Leave The Bourbon on The Shelf
05 Sweet Talk
06 Under The Gun
07 Where The White Boys Dance
08 Show You How
09 Move Away (Spiderman 3 Soundtrack)
10 Glamorous Indie Rock & Roll
11 Who Let You Go
12 The Ballad Of Michael Valentine
13 Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town
14 Daddy's Eyes
15 Sams Town live from Abbey Road
16 Romeo and Juliet (live from abbey road)
17 Change Your Mind
18 Somebody Told Me
19 Why Don't You Find Out for Yourself
20 Get Trashed
Killers - Sawdust
