The Killers and Nas Each Dropped New Albums On Friday And Both Are Fuego

(I started this on Saturday but got caught up and didn't want to rush something to put out. Sorry it's late. I flipped a coin on who to go first with on this blog and the Killers won.)

THE KILLERS - IMPLODING THE MIRAGE

NME - The Killers have always walked the tightrope between earnest honesty and flamboyant showmanship. With 2003’s bright-eyed debut ‘Hot Fuss’, they traded in glamorous indie rock’n’roll, but carried it with a certain sense of innocence. That remained even when they turned the bravado up on world-beating follow-up ‘Sam’s Town’. Their sixth album ‘Imploding The Mirage’, out today, is a career-high record that soars skywards in its sonic pomp and ambition, but is rooted in a very homely kind of love...

(quick sidebar- I got lucky to catch The Killers on Alt Nation on Sirius XM last week with Madison. The previewed the album, did a few exclusive acoustic versions of their classics (they did an incredible version of "When You Were Young" that I've been trying to find somewhere online but can't). But she got them to really open up about the album and what went into it. And it was different from the cliche canned answers you always get from bands or artists upon new releases. Brand Flowers was extremely candid and honest about his family's need to get out of Las Vegas because of the negative effects it was having on his wife and in turn their relationship. Madison is kind of a weirdo but she is an amazing interviewer. One of the best.)

“We got out. Las Vegas is haunted for my wife,” Flowers admits. “Some places are like that for some people. We put her on a mountain that is clean and untouched by people in her past. It’s literally a clean slate for us and we’re reaping the benefits.”

Soon, Flowers began to see a thread through new lyrics, coming back to “two people bonding, committing, and overcoming”. As drummer Ronnie Vannucci Jr tells NME: “The album has turned out to be a concept record, that’s basically about a couple trying to get to a higher place”.

Away from the maudlin balladry of their last two records, the record is lifted by a life-affirming brightness and sense of release born from Flowers “falling in love with music again”. Indeed, the record recently received the full five-star treatment from NME.

There are people whose taste prefers hard rock with no real basis behind the lyrics or song structure. Which is totally fine. Good music is good music and everybody is into different stuff which is one of the things that makes music so beautiful. 

But this album isn't that, and for me and my personal taste it's a great thing. 

The album in my opinion is amazing. Like Hot Fuss amazing. I think it's even better than Sam's Town it's that good.

There's been alot of talk lately about bands taking the sound from Talking Heads (Pearl Jam's new album) and it's very apparent on the track here  "Fire In Bone".

There's the familiar, ramp-up crescendo reaching, euphoric jams we've come to know and loev from The Killers like "Caution"

and "My God"

There's also a track with a future synth rock sound called "Running Towards A Place" that is fuckin awesome - 

There's a very romantic song with some sappy yet awesome lyrics that plays as an ode to Flowers' wife

"Dying Breed"

There's also the radio jam that has gotten and will continue to get even more spins. And for good reason. 

"My Own Souls Warning"

As well as what I think will be the next album single and has a chance to be one of the biggest Killers song in their catalog-

"When The Dreams Run Dry"

All songs that tie back into the theme Flowers' expressed is at the heart of the album, a couple refinding themselves and the reasons they fell in love. Call me a pussy but it's really beautiful stuff. 

This is a fucking awesome album.

I LOVE The Killers. If you haven't seen them in concert make it a priority once concerts are a thing again to go. Even if you're not really into them. Their live show will knock your socks off. You forget how many hits they have until you watch them bang them out for 2 and a half hours straight. It's ridiculous.

I LOVE Brandon Flowers. He seems like a legit really good person and he is an incredible showman. His stage presence is unreal. Commands your attention from beginning to end. He's also an amazing song-writer and it's never been proven better than on Imploding The Mirage.

I also LOVE their drummer Ronnie Vannucci. For years I never knew his name and just referred to him as the guy that looks like the guy from "My Name Is Earl." But after seeing multiple shows, and seeing the insane drum display he puts on, I realized I needed to know who the guy is. Turns out he's a fellow proud Italian American that started playing drums at the age of 6 and got his first real gig at the age of 7 at a Vegas casino. He spent his childhood playing in bands that toured prisons and homeless shelters playing free music (pretty awesome) and was in a ska band with some of the Neon Trees before joining The Killers in 2002. Guy is a mad man on the drums.

NAS - KING'S DISEASE

NME - Longevity in rap isn’t something easily achieved. If an artist makes it to five years, they’re considered a success. If they make it to 10, they’re a respected veteran. Nas has been in the game for almost 30 years and he sounds just as sharp now as he did when he dropped ‘Illmatic’ in 1994. Having already surpassed legendary status, he’s donning royal robes for his 13th studio album, ‘King’s Disease’ – and there’s no denying they look good on the 46-year-old.

It’s a huge improvement on his last project – 2018’s Kanye West-produced ‘Nasir’ – and the marriage between beats and rhymes sounds effortless. Nas has had a few problems when it’s come to picking the right beats to back his poetic intricacies, but there are no such missteps this time around.

I hate to call anything one of the top 10 rappers to ever live has done "a flop". Especially when it's a collaborative effort with another historic artist/producer like Kanye. But for how high all our expectations were for "Nasir" it was a dud. 

Thank God "King's Disease" is far from that. Consider this Nas' triumphant return. 

Straight fire from beginning to end with some monster featured guests sprinkled in throughout. We're even talking an entire Firm reunion, including Dr. Dre, on the aptly titled track "Full Circle"

(AZ is still a fuckin beast. Remember when you could understand rap verses?)

We've also got "All Bad" featuring Anderson Paak-

a BANGER featuring Big Sean 

the standout track (for me personally) "27 Summers" where Nas puts on a lyrical clinic-

and an all-around dope old-school Nas sounding track featuring Charlie Wilson 

Also a great collab with ASAP Ferg and up and coming NY stud Fivio Foreign called "Spicy"

All around a GREAT rap album when it seems such a rarity these days.