CD Review: Wonderful Wonderful by The Killers

The Killers
Island Records
Score: C

14 years removed from “Mr. Brightside,” 11 from Sam’s Town and five from the release of their last effort Battleborn, Wonderful Wonderful comes on the heels of several solo and side projects of varying success that kept the four original members occupied through the hiatus. And for the most part, it seems like after the half decade off, the group may have struggled to find their footing again.

Wonderful Wonderful is not a fundamentally flawed album, but it struggles to find its place all the way through. Lead single “The Man” seems to strut confidently, and “Rut” recaptures a glimpse of the magic that a Killer’s track used to uniformly contain. Much of the rest of the album, however, fails to handle the momentum. “Run for Cover” feels shoehorned in as a the standard political (but not TOO political) song, and “Tyson vs. Douglas”, though flourishing at moments, cannot properly contain the ambitious themes it sets out to cover.

Wonderful Wonderful, though still holding value in the odd track that carries glimpses of the old magic, fails to capture the overall anthemic value that catapulted The Killers to the upper echelon of rock and roll.

Nathan Kunz