Yahoo! Music Review

Released on 17/11/08
Label: Mercury

Let's be clear about this: The Killers have been an undoubted force for good over the last few years. Brandon Flowers may be preeningly self important, particularly when a journalist's tape recorder appears, but his confidence is backed up by big pop star flair and glittering good looks, not to mention a handful of murderously good tunes. Which is why it's such a shame to report that "Human" is no "Mr Brightside", "Somebody Told Me" or "When You Were Young". In fact, it's so lukewarm, it's barely better than "Believe Me Natalie", the dreary low point of their debut, "Hot Fuss".

Much has been made of the band roping in producer Stuart Price, who has recently revved up the careers of both Madonna and Keane, but he seems uncertain of what to do with the wishy washy melody Flowers has handed him here. Over an anaemic electronic pulse, Flowers croons some rhyming nonsense about a "platform of surrender" and wonders "are we human or are we dancer", until, at the one minute mark, Price drops a provincial nightclub's worth of cheap synths all over the track, presumably out of boredom. Sadly, it doesn't help.

    by Jaime Gill