Even if there’s no solid emergent mainstream genre raising above all others this year (aside from perhaps the gaining pace of Britpop nostalgia), it is becoming a year when some are nudged overground by the accessible work of select bands. Hope Of The States smartened up post-rock’s appearance surprisingly well earlier this month, and now The Killers follow through on the promise of two pristine singles by taking the dark slicing 80s synth-pop of The Faint, giving it a giddy scrubbing down and selling it on at twice the price. They’ve melted down Depeche Mode, Duran Duran and New Order’s ores and used the hot dense liquid as fuel to push forward with a decidedly more modern, 90s pop approach.
Much has been made of singer Brandon Flowers’ uncanny Rick Witter vocal likeness, and while it would be wrong to deny this – especially on ‘Indie Rock & Roll’ appropriately enough which doesn’t sound entirely unlike the Sheds – they are full of self belief, and any vocal that was too expressive would sound out of place amongst this pop discipline. They are distinctive in their flatness. And anyway, we saw Shed Seven outplay the Happy Mondays at their massive ’99 Manchester comeback, so back off a bit, alright! There are near homages to Pulp and Blur too, (on the This Is Hardcore-esque ‘Andy, You’re A Star’ and the bouncy Parklifey ‘Somebody Told Me’ chorus respectively).
As far as current peers go, opening track ‘Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine’ is remarkably complimentary to previous touring partners Stellastarr*, and not just because it sounds like ‘Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me’ era Cure and shares a penchant for the same girl, and ‘Midnight Show’ takes Franz Ferdinand to the D.I.S.C.O. But they still retain their own identity through a knack for sugar-pumped anthems. One of the very best, when everything comes together, is ‘All These Things That I’ve Done’ and its nigh-on-impossible-not-to-sing-along climactic choral hook “I’ve got soul but I’m not a soldier”. It loses a little momentum towards the end of the record, but all in all this is a buzzing bubble of exuberant indie teetering on the brink of *pop*.