The Killers - Sawdust

‘Tis the season to be jolly – unless you’re a music reviewer. In a plentiful period, pickings are slim. While children look forward to presents, the music industry gives gifts of turgid greatest hits churned out with tedious inevitability. The Killers haven’t sunk this low, disguising their cash cow as a B-Sides and rarities collection.

The Las Vegas quartet’s albums are notorious for their lack of consistency. They mix bona fide pop classics with misplaced overindulgence on sub-Springsteen epics. Sawdust has a similar variety of quality. ‘Under The Gun’ is a pulsating cut of gleaming synths and vociferous drums. An Abbey Road recording of ‘Sam’s Town’ shines similarly, showcasing Brandon Flowers’ underrated vocal exuberance.

Yet also present are versions of ‘Where The White Boys Dance’ and ‘Glamourous Indie Rock and Roll’. This record is going to appeal to existing fans, not attract new ones, so why include old album tracks as familiar as Brandon’s bristling moustache? Plus, as anyone who has visited a cheesy nightclub knows, dance remixes of ‘Mr. Brightside’ are less fun than spending Christmas with that aunt who has more cats than sanity.

The covers included summarise the inequality of the 18 tracks. Dire Straits’ ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is poorly executed, oozing lethargy and lacking bite. Then, inexplicably, ‘Shadowplay’ defines how to cover a song, altering it significantly but preserving its heart. The Killers take Joy Division’s gloomy genius and marry it with a neurotic fizz that brings glam, while maintaining just enough positive tension.

Sawdust is the shavings on the studio flaw that have gathered as the band has crafted a career. It lacks precision and flow; it’s overlong and inconsistent. But it does have inspired moments, namely Lou Reed singing gibberish lyrics of “Ring around Rosie,” on the quirky paranoia of new single ‘Tranquilize’. For a moment, it’s 1972 again.

The Killers are a band that wears their influences on their silver-sequinned sleeves. Although Sawdust is only essential for superfans, if it turns them on to Reed’s eccentricity, or Joy Division’s electricity, it’s a worthwhile exercise. And at least it’s not a bloody greatest hits.