Las Vegas born band, The Killers, returned after their long awaited mini hiatus since the release of their last album “Wonderful Wonderful” with their new record, “Imploding the Mirage.” Introducing a new album with their absent founding guitarist, Dave Keuning, the band released a record that epitomizes The Killers’s sound and brings a sense of hope during these awful and abnormal times. “Imploding the Mirage” is an album that takes The Killers back to their roots as seen on “Battle Born,” and it has their audience roaring with excitement.
After the release of “Wonderful, Wonderful” and allegations of sexual misconduct from a crew member back in 2009, The Killers delayed the release of “Imploding the Mirage” even more than what the coronavirus already had. But despite the awful allegations and the hardships of an ongoing global pandemic, The Killers have returned, and they returned with a BANG.
During the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and even before that, we have experienced and been fed wonderful music content, but nothing is as good as The Killers “Imploding the Mirage” and its message behind it: hope. Introducing new 80s synth sounds with a mixture of their classic unique rock styles, the album created an entirely new sound.
The album kicks off with the single “My Own Souls’s Warning,” starting off with an epic drum beat and followed by a lead synth that screams eighties arena concert. Lead singer Brandon Flowers sings the chorus, “cutting up the nights like a goddamn knife/And it got me thinking, no matter how far I just wanted to get back to where you are.” This song is a metaphor for Flower’s resilience and his struggles with faith, and introduces the theme of welcoming challenges. “I tried going against my own soul’s warning/But in the end, something just didn’t feel right,” Flowers sings, showing the story of himself struggling with faith and how he strayed away from God, thus causing him to feel some sort of void.
Other highlights from the album include “Blowback,” “Caution,” and “My God.” The song “Blowback” is about a girl who is facing a battle with her inner self. However, optimistic lyrics appear, such as “it’s just a matter of time” before she is “going to break out” of the torturous cycle she is in. “Caution” is about a woman leaving her hometown seeking a better life. The song narrates Flowers’ own life through the perspective of a young woman who is having a hard time finding a career and struggling with depression and boredom: “If I don’t get out, out of this town I just might be the one who finally burns it down. I’m throwin’ caution.” Eventually, the young woman ends up taking a risk by leaving her town just how Flowers did.
The track “My God” is probably one of the most religious songs on the entire album and it features American singer Weyes Blood. The song takes the listener on a spiritual journey of one becoming enlightened and establishing a strong relationship with God, singing, “My God, it’s like a weight has been lifted.” The person who was stuck in an unfavorable rut has now been relieved from the weight that was “dragging [them] down.” It’s a song that highlights Flowers’ growth as a man and within the band. At one point, Flowers’ strayed away from God as shown in “My Own Soul’s Warning,” but went back to God because he couldn’t stay away, it was a wrong decision choice and “My God” is about him finding divinity and becoming a more enlightened person. “My God” is a modern day gospel.
“Imploding the Mirage” is an album that is definitely worth the listen. The hope that the album displays is enough to give the nation some faith to look beyond all the hardships and struggles we have witnessed and are currently experiencing in 2020. “Imploding the Mirage” encourages people to keep on running and striving. The Killers have outdone themselves again with their new album, but this time they took a leap forward into a new generation of alternative rock.