new Killers single.

I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with Brandon Flowers. I do think the Killers are a great band and I actively enjoy their first two records (though I think Sam's Town was straining a little bit too hard for rock critic credibility.) But that's just the problem that I have with Flowers: it seems the success of his band has given him a vastly overinflated sense of artistic worth. Its frustrating to hear him in interviews talking down to other bands, as if he, who penned the brilliant opus "Somebody Told Me," is some bastion of creative integrity. What he needs to understand is that the Killers are a pop band - a really good pop band - but just because in between making Hot Fuss and Sam's Town he listened to a few Bruce Springsteen records and grew a beard, doesn't mean that he is now some great American songwriter.

That being said, I absolutely love the new Killers single, Human. It's a bit of mix stylistically between their first two records, with a definite synth-pop dance element, but with a little bit of the folksy Americana vibe that Flowers tried too hard to create with Sam's Town. It seems that he is finally finding his own voice instead of just trying to imitate Morrisey, or Springsteen, or whoever, which is a step in the right direction for him. I think it was a great choice to work with Stuart Price (who produced Madonna's Confessions on a Dance Floor,) as the song just seems like more of a pop hit than anything they've done for quite a while.

Lyrically, I was fascinated when at first I thought the hook in the chorus was "Are we human / or are we dancer?" which makes no fucking sense at all, but upon closer inspection I believe he is actually saying "are we human / or are we denser," which is still dumb but strangely compelling.

In any case, its a great song, but I still think Brandon Flowers needs to get over himself a little bit.

UPDATE:
I keep posting the song only to have it get taken down. I guess if you are the Killers its much better if no one listens to your new song. Good strategy guys. Just go and listen to it on their Myspace, but whatever you do, don't download it for free because that would be a horrible travesty.