Day & Age (Island)

Considering that the Killers’ 2004 debut, Hot Fuss, seemingly had one-hit wonder scrawled all over it, you have to give the band credit for refusing to play things safe. On Day & Age, the Las Vegas quartet throws a retro-’80s curve ball at the heartland fans who clambered onto the bandwagon for the unofficial Bruce Springsteen tribute that was 2006’s Sam’s Town.

It’s not like singer Brandon Flowers and company haven’t pillaged the Me Decade for inspiration in the past. But where they first hit platinum by tapping into the early ’00s gone-before-you-blinked postpunk revival, Day & Age takes a decidedly more disposable, unapologetically tacky ’80s route.

Sorry you weren’t around for the panty-removing new-romantic funk of Duran Duran back in the day? Based on the bass-line driven “Joy Ride”, so are the Killers. Longing for a time when Robert Palmer was wearing Italian suits instead of providing fertilizer for a daisy patch? Brace yourself for the designer-soul of “The World We Live In”.

For sheer balls, you have to give the Killers props for spiking “Losing Touch” and “I Can’t Stay” with absolutely ’80s sax solos, a good reason why the synth-soaked Day & Age seems as intentionally dated as Solid Gold, fright wig–era Tina Turner, and anything starring Molly Ringwald. And if that retro fixation bothers you, take comfort in the fact that half the Killers seem to have shaved off their Wyatt Earp–issue mustaches and thrown away the bolo ties.