The Killers - Tranquilize

With an album of b-sides and rarities due shortly, The Killers confusingly release a very big record.

Tranquilize sets the scene with a brooding intro stomping with menace that heralds the presence of its grouchy guest singer Lou Reed. But then Brandon Flowers starts to sing and it begins to sound like a Ben Elton musical. Despite the support of Reed’s steady bass and fiery lyrics, Flowers’ voice tramples across a range of moods as if he were treading the boards of a West End stage. While you can’t blame The Killers for attempting something grandiloquent given Reed’s presence, maybe they simply tried too hard.