Las Vegas rockers, The Killers, released the minimalist titled “Human” as the first single from their upcoming album Day and Age.
On the first listen, a state of bewilderment leads the journey as the lack of rock and roll energy makes this tune unlike previous singles such as “When You Were Young” and “Mr. Brightside.” The track begins with soft keyboards, clean palm muted guitars, and calming vocals. When Brandon Flowers offers the confusing line, “are we human or are we dancer?” the song transforms into a dance-aholic’s fix of electronica sounding percussive repetition. The Killers seem to be nurturing the direction heard on Sawdust when they offered a post-punk Joy Division cover, “Shadowplay.” Even though, “Human” is not a rocker it contains all the right ingredients for their genre of post-punk revival; confusing lyrics, catchy guitar hooks, and excessive synthesizers. 7/10
Projection: Loyal fans of the alternative genre will dig the new album, rock and roll addicts will not.
The Killers are Brandon Flowers [vocals/keyboards], Dave Keuning [guitars], Mark Stoermer [bass], and Ronnie Vannucci Jr.
Human is simply brilliant and is now one of my favourite Killer songs. You can hear every word that Brandon Flowers sings and his voice is just perfect. Both the single ‘Human’ and the album ‘Day and Age’ are going to be runaway hits. I also liked the video of Human, it was just right for the song. 10/10.