#9 - The Killers - Battle Born
This album is probably the most frustrating of all albums released this year. It comes so close to being perfect. Ten out of the twelve songs on it are untouchable, but there are two that massively let the side down... and those are A Matter Of Time, which is completely forgettable, and Heart Of A Girl, which is just boring. I know several fans will disagree, but I much prefer cutting them out. Without them, this album would have been number 1 this year for sure. The album still sits high on the top 25 purely on the basis that the other ten songs are huge. So let's focus on the positives! I was a bit apprehensive when reports came in that it was going to be a ballad-heavy album... and it is, but my concerns were more than dealt with; just take one listen to sing-along track Here With Me and tell me you don't agree. The highlights of the album include opening track Flesh And Bone - teased with a trailer way back in June - which clearly highlights the new electronic, 80s-style direction, with a massive guitar solo to boot; Miss Atomic Bomb, a prequel to the band's first real hit Mr. Brightside (It even uses the famous guitar riff as a middle-8!); and Be Still, which is just so gorgeous and spine-tingling, Brandon Flowers' vocals reaching their peak (in fact, he shines on the entire album, but is absolutely fantastic on this particular song). There's also folk-style From Here On Out, the instant classic and first single Runaways, and the pure rock masterpiece Battle Born. So, overall, it's such a good album, but massively let down by two tracks in particular. Oh well, nothing's perfect, is it?
RECOMMEND: Flesh And Bone, The Way It Was, Miss Atomic Bomb
LOW POINTS: A Matter Of Time, Heart Of A Girl
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