I’ve never been a huge fan of The Killers. When they were coming up I felt like there was this rivalry between The Killers and Bravery. I was “Team Bravery.” Since then I have sort of taken what The Killers have put out with a grain of salt. Just to add to my built in bias was this hearty distaste for the way Brandon Flowers presented himself when I have met him in the past.

Maybe it’s just me but it really ruins it for me when I discover someone from a band is a complete douchebag. They can put out the most groundbreaking prolific music ever known to man and in my mind I’ll still say, “Yeah but that guy is such an asshole!” Such is the dilemma I am faced with The Killers.

So I sit myself down to immediately hate Battle Born, the newest album from The Killers. I hit play and wanted so bad to hate this album. However, the more I listened to the tracks and the more I really dug deep into the music I found that I actually liked this album. Maybe taking a year and a half off was helpful.

I have always said that The Killers reminded me of elements of The Cars. Battle Born proves my point. Brandon’s voice, lyrics, and the composition of tracks like “Runaways” and “A Matter of Time” are very similar to something you would hear on The Cars’ “Heartbeat City.” I don’t know. Maybe it’s just me but listen to both albums and tell me I’m wrong. Happy to have a debate about that point.

Bottom line: The Killers have done a good job with this album. It’s not their best but it certainly isn’t their worst. They’ve been able to take what could be something very simple and put some dynamics to it. It is not a grand rock opera but it still has enough substance to keep your attention.

Rating: 7/10