The Killers - 'For Reasons Unknown'
In a lot of ways, this is the perfect Killers song to release after the band's enormo-performo at Glastonbury, seeing as it's exactly like any other Killers song, only one which has been left out in the rain, and some of the mechanisms have rusted a bit, so they squeak and lurch where once they would have glided and swooped. None of this is bad, by the way...
()
In terms of the song itself, it's another of those Killers anthems which seems to be entirely constructed of choruses...largely the choruses to 'Union City Blue' by Blondie, but you can't hold that against them. But for some reason, they've dropped the gloss and polish of 'Bones' or 'Read My Mind' for this squalling, grinding, grating kind of sound. Like a 2 pence piece down the side of a burnt out Ford Transit, only with extra synth twiddles.
And it really suits them. Just like having a deadpan growl underneath Brandon's angelic moans helps to keep the song grounded until it's really primed and ready for takeoff. It's called song-craft, and it's something the band have clearly been paying a lot of attention to recently.
Like the bit where, once again, Brandon just seems to start gabbling and babbling, like he's thought of nine other ways in which this song could go and he wants to cram them all in before the last chorus.
For once, the band seems to have realised these bits are what separates Killers songs from, say, Kooks songs, that extra touch of creative insanity. So, in the last minute, Brandon seems to have been given free reign to go nuts and speak in tongues, and it's so compelling there's this air of disappointment when the final proper chorus happens. Just like when you've finished throwing all of your paints around in a free-art frenzy, and it's time to start clearing up.
Which also brings me back to Glastonbury. That mud'll take AGES to wash off of gold lame...
Download: Out now
CD Released: June 25th
(Fraser McAlpine)
Comments
hmmm, all i can say i suppose is that i really, really hate this song. i have nothing against the killers. i dont pretend to be their biggest fan but niether do i dislike their music. i have hot fuss and can only say i like a few of the songs, the others are nothing special. so far from the new album the songs yet again have been nothing special but this is just awful. i HATE brandons voice in it, when did he forget how to sing?? argh!! *mutters* for reasons unknown they made this song...
ps can we be expecting teenagers this week?
This is just a bad version of 'Mr.Brightside' which I love! Rip-off!
i don't like your songs???????