Revisitation Nation: Wonderful Wonderful by The Killers

The Killers are usually defined as a singles band. The Las Vegas based band's debut Hot Fuss produced indie classics "Mr. Brightside" and "Somebody Told Me", among others. Their follow-up. Sam's Town, was seen as a stronger record overall, with the track "When You Were Young" becoming a staple. Day & Age was less well received, but still produced a huge single in the memeable "Human". Battle Born however, possessed little of note on the charts and critically. After this, the band took a 5 year hiatus, returning in 2017 with Wonderful Wonderful. Since it's release the band have gone from a singles band to an album band, with follow-ups Imploding the Mirage and Pressure Machine receiving glowing reviews, strong sales, and exceptional fan responses. Wonderful Wonderful, in the context of the band's trajectory as a whole, reads as an abberation. Sure, Battle Born had no hits and wasn't particularly well reviewed, but it's in the context of the pre-hiatus Killers, who were focused on pop-rock hits and not creating albums with overarching concepts and mediations on heavy topics. Don't take it from me, take it from Brandon Flowers, lead vocalist of The Killers, who said in a pre-release interview that "we really want to make a record here, not just slap a bunch of songs together".

Wonderful Wonderful exists in the in-between land, where The Killers were trying to make a capital A album, without focusing on chart success. Unlike their later two works however, they did not stick the landing at the time. Reviews were mixed, with metacritic placing it at a solid if unremarkable 71 aggregate score. Indie barometer Pitchfork gave it a 6.3, stating "No tens here—sixes and sevens abound, for sure, a few fives, maybe an eight.". It topped the billboard album charts, but failed to land any of it's 5(!) singles on the hot 100. Fan reception was also muted, with aggregate user review platform RateYourMusic giving it a 2.81 average score, the second lowest score of their studio albums (Battle Born is last). While Battle Born is undoubtedly the band's nadir, Wonderful Wonderful sits in an awkward position. Does it deserve a revisit? Is Wonderful Wonderful secretly wonderful? Or is it exactly as it seems, a band in a transitory period between creating pop-rock hits and inhabiting a sort of indie elder statesman role?

The album opens with a synth horn blaring in an elegaic fashion. The bass kicks in and melds with the horns. As Flowers sings of prayers for rain, the whole thing feels rather apocalyptic. As if to save us, the chorus explodes in the fashion that Killers songs tend to do. The refrain preaches as a choir: "Motherless child, dost thou believe? That thine afflictions have caused us to grieve?" Why does it sound like "The Chain" by Fleetwood Mac? It's good but it undeniably sounds similar to that classic. Regardless, the song gradually builds away from Fleetwood Mac with the second chorus, shrill guitars snapping as Flowers emphatically yells "Wonderful Wonderful". It's a strange track, but I enjoyed it. It's vaguely apocalyptic tones then, clash when the goofy irreverence of "The Man" begins. It feels it's trying to be an Alex Cameron style skewering of masculine ideals with it's robot voices saying "You're looking at the man" and Flowers basically pausing the track with "USDA CERTIFIED LEAN" but it's disco stylings and silly lyrics give it no power. It critiques nothing and actively clashes with the opener and the following "Rut", which discusses... Flowers' wife's struggles with PTSD. It's certainly single material, and not a bad song in it's own right, but something about it's placement as the second track adds a sense of tonal dissonance that may have aided in the mixed reviews of this album. Considering the band's stated intent to create something about what it means to be a man, the lack of any substantial critique with
"The Man" is disappointing, as it feels the lyrics are attempting to satirise macho ideals of masculinity, however divorced from that interpretation and it's track placement, it's a fun and catchy track. Perhaps i'm just conflating Alex Cameron's 5 writing credits on this 10 track album with an intention to critique masculinity, but if that was the intention it failed. Still, there are worse failures, "The Man" is good taken on it's own.

As mentioned, "Rut" deals with themes of PTSD and general struggles with mental health. It's opening line of "Don't give up on me, i'm just in a rut" delivered through high pitched process vocals is affecting, and the song keeps that energy lyrically, however it falls instrumentally. Glittery guitars and a stuttering beat feel grandiose but nothing lands for me outside of Flowers' vocal delivery, sounding strained at all the right points, and resolute near the end. It's a mixed bag but i'll give "Rut" points for making me feel something during the bridge. It's a little dull up to that point but that gorgeous bridge makes it a worthy climb. "Life To Come" is the first of Cameron's 5 collaborations in a row. Some background for those unfamiliar, as a day 1 stan of his. Cameron is an Australian musician who has made his living writing synth-pop ditties often critiquing social aspects with kooky characters. He reminds me of an ungothic Nick Cave, with an additional focus on toxic masculinity. If this interests you, check out Forced Witness, his second album. On it you'll find the driving "Running Out Of Luck" a tale of a man on a mission and his stripper out of luck, which Flowers has a writing credit and performs backing vocals on. Cameron isn't a particularly big star, even here in Australia, which makes his collaboration with A-List muso Flowers somewhat curious. Regardless, it appears to have culminated in a fruitful partnership here, with Cameron taking up credit space on half the album. Unfortunately, "Life To Come" is kind of boring. After the elegaic yet triumphant "Rut", "Life To Come" reads as a reminder to Flowers' wife that he wants to be there for all of it. It's certainly a powerful sentiment, however it's just not particularly interesting to listen to. With Flowers insistent that we "drop kick the shame" over plodding drums, it evolves into a U2 style triumphant ballad, but from one of their bad albums. I don't know enough about U2 to give you an answer (was Vertigo the name of the album Vertigo is from? That one was probably bad.) but I've heard enough Joshua Tree to know that this feels very much like that A N T H E M I C U2 style. It's just a little bland, however "Run For Cover" feels like a saving grace. After back-to-back ballads "Run For Cover" and it's drving guitars are much welcomed, bringing the energy of "The Man" without it's self-effacing satire. It's a good track, and probably the most Killers-sounding song on the album, if you get me. The lyrics jump around from a senator cheating on his wife to celebrities getting away with it. The reference to fake news make the references to politics, fame, and crimes feel... pointed. It feels like a response to Trump and the need for people to escape, while not giving in to the fear of the current political climate. It's a strong track, followed up by "Tyson Vs Douglas". Using the classic boxing upset as an example for seeing a hero fail, Flowers references his own life and appearing like the hero to his own children by the end. His desire not to fail them as a parent is buoyed by energy in the verses, however the pre-chorus and chorus dip quite a bit. It's an uneven track, and a rare Killers one in that the verses are the high point. It's unfortunate, but the strange circus delivery in the prechorus pulls things to a halt. The chorus also feels a little hokey, even if it's delivered well. Hearing Flowers talk about literally crying as a child after the Tyson vs Douglas fight isn't really a powerful sentiment and wastes the opportunity that the song's concept gives us. I would have preferred the metaphor extended to a more personal revelation than referencing an actual sporting match and the tears 8-year old Flowers shed. It feels like a missed opportunity, both musically and lyrically.

"Some Kind of Love" is another ballad, focusing once again on Flowers' wife and her suicidal thoughts due to the aforementioned PTSD. The track is probably the most successful ballad here, building to a beautiful conclusion where Flowers and his children repeating "Can't do this alone/We need you at home/There's so much to see/We know that you're strong". No matter how this review goes, know this the Killers: you are very good at making me feel things. "Out Of My Mind" is a groovy synth-pop ditty that feels the most indebted to Cameron sonically and lyrically. Dealing with Flowers' need to win the admiration of others, including his wife, Bruce Springsteen, and Paul McCartney (namedrops!) it deals with interesting ideas over smooth instrumentation. How does one stop seeking accomplishment and just be happy with what they have? It seems an impossible ask, but the Killers manage to give the topic the kind of gradiosity they do so well. It feels like a minor dispute between Flowers and his wife spiraled into a realisation that "I don't know if I can stop" looking for validation despite being a rich rockstar idolised by millions. They don't really give an answer to the questions raised, rather implying that Flowers is falling further in love with his wife as she declines to satiate his need for her validation and the vindication from his meetings with his idols. "The Calling" opens with a Woody Harrelson bible reading before a thumping bassline kicks in. It's swaggering guitar riff belies a tale of a son returning to his hometown to apparently straighten out his dad with Jesus. It's a bit weird honestly, with references to "the last two chapters of Matthew in my hand" in the opening verse. The band sell the chorus effectively enough that this strange crusade has a sense of fun to it. Flowers' delivery of "Brother just lean in to the light" is infectiously catchy and it's a shame closer "Have All The Songs Been Written?" doesn't keep up the energy. The closer is a maudlin affair if it's overwrought title didn't suggest. Apparently the title was taken from the subject line of an email written by Flowers to Bono of U2 about writer's block. Ridiculous sentence. The track plods along, building to little. Lyrically it's vague, but going by the given story it's probably about writer's block. It's a slow and dull number that closes out the album on a whimper.

 Wonderful Wonderful is an album with many good tracks but few exceptional ones. While songs do share common themes, nothing coalesces into a whole thematic throughline. It perhaps lacks some energy, as while tracks like "The Man" and "Run For Cover" exist, 4 of the 10 tracks are slower ballads. That's not inherently bad, but it's not what people listen to the Killers for in my opinion. It doesn't help that about 2 of those fall flat on their face. There are tracks here I will return to outside of the context of the album and tracks I will forever skip. I can see how this could be disappointing to some but in my opinion this was a good return from a five year hiatus at the time and it has aged well in the context of their discography. More focused yet varied than Battle Born and Day & Age, it nonetheless caries on their synth-pop experimentation with big rock hooks. Imploding the Mirage and Pressure Machine tend towards shedding the synth-pop to deliver driving rock anthems, so it's nice to see their final attempt with this style of music (so far) to be their most successful. It's probably better than Hot Fuss as a whole but never reaches that album's high points, nor the cohesiveness of Sam's Town. It's in a weird spot, where mediocrity feels too strong to describe it but remarkable is also definitely too strong. It's worth visiting at least once to pick out the songs worthy of a playlist, because there are some on here, but it's perhaps not worth revisiting as a whole project without the aid of the skip button. Wonderful Wonderful is occasionally wonderful, but that didn't feel like enough for the band's return after a slump and hiatus for many. Relistening to it in the year of our lord 2023 reveals a consistent album with peaks and valleys, like many others. Yet it's clear the band was trying to produce something meaningful and powerful, and while it was not a complete success, the emotional resonance of tracks like "Rut" and "Some Kind of Love" cannot be overlooked, even if I personally won't revisit them as often as some of the more energetic tracks on here. It's probably the best thing they've done since Sam's Town, and leads in nicely to their return to that style of music on Implioding the Mirage and Pressure machine. Wonderful Wonderful lands in the midpoint of their discography, probably on par with their debut. It's worth your time in my opinion if you need some grandiose hooks, with highlights being the title track, "The Man", "Run For Cover" and "Out Of My Mind" for me. Just don't expect to find every track is wonderful.