• Record Label: Island
  • Release Date: Sep 22, 2017
Metascore
71

Generally favorable reviews - based on 25 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 25
  2. Negative: 1 out of 25
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  1. Sep 27, 2017
    30
    Despite a committed effort, Wonderful Wonderful isn't a title that accurately reflects its content.
User Score
8.2

Universal acclaim- based on 138 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Negative: 5 out of 138
  1. Sep 22, 2017
    7
    Five years have passed since the last studio-album of the Killers. Five years in which the band-members potentially had time to reshape,Five years have passed since the last studio-album of the Killers. Five years in which the band-members potentially had time to reshape, rethink and reevaluate what they wanted to deliver, in which direction they wanted to go. And they definitely had to reshape some things to an extent. Because what exactly are The Killers at this point?

    Since they are such a household name, the Killers seem to have a very consistent style of music which numerous fans enjoy, yet in truth, there seem to be two styles of The Killers, not just one. The Killers from Hot Fuss to Sam´s Town are very different from the Killers from Day & Age to Battleborn and just as varying may be the degree to which a fan of one style can enjoy the other one. So what style did they choose for Wonderful Wondeful? Strangely enough, a little bit of both and somehow it works.

    It is fascinating to see that all the highlights of the album are fundamentally different and could fit inot either of the band´s two phases. The Man is a grooving, sarcastic and plain fun 80-s popsong while Run for Cover is a relentless onslaught of Hot Fuss/Sam´s Town postpunk-reminiscent energy. Still more fascinating, the other highlight, Wonderful Wondeful, is a wholly different, darker approach to their usual repertoire. In that sense, the album is even borderline experimental in changing up the typical Killers-sound to some extent. More sinister tones shine through on said Wonderful Wonderful while The Calling follows this approach, giving the band more room to experiment outside of their usual comfort-zone. And it checks out. Aside from this, Out of mind, Tyson vs Douglas and Life to Come congeal the guitar-driven and 80s-pop sound to a fitting whole and make up the other solid-very good part of the album.

    Yet there are two things which drag this album down a bit. Brandon Flowers has this special charisma oozing from his voice, so why he chooses to not have two ballads, but three on the album, baffles me to some extent. For me, the Killers have always worked best when they embraced this energy and ran with it unapologetically, forging strong narratives while not slowing themselves down musically (see for example: Uncle Jonny, Spaceman) The ballads, while all solidly written, take some of the energy and swagger away from Wonderful Wonderful and push it down a nodge. "Rut" works because the personal message feels genuine and there is an actual story worth telling, yet "Have all the songs been written" drifts off into what feels like a tad tedious, halfbaked reflections on Flowers´s writing-blockage and "Some kind of love" just isn´t terribly interesting. Besides this, while mixing up their style is commendable and it really works on a song-basis, the album does not exactly feel like an "album", it feels more like a compilation of singular songs. Some may say that the album lacks a bit of an identity or at least a common thread thorughout ... and they would not be easily disproven. So the question what the Killers are is left to debate after Wonderful Wonderful. Still, it´s hard to be really upset about this when many of these songs just work this well though.
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  2. Sep 24, 2017
    10
    This album is right up there for me, with the best releases of the year. It's a soul-stirring album, where the band is experimenting with someThis album is right up there for me, with the best releases of the year. It's a soul-stirring album, where the band is experimenting with some new sounds and a new approach to their lyrical themes, that are more personal than ever. There are a few The Killers classic anthems in there, too. With this album, Brandon Flowers sets in as one of the most talented singer-songwriters of the music industry today. Either a longtime fan or new to the "Victims" (The Killers' fans) Wonderful Wonderful will not dissapoint. Full Review »
  3. Sep 22, 2017
    9
    I have been a fan of The killers for many years and I had really low expectations towards this record, however, The Killers never disappoints,I have been a fan of The killers for many years and I had really low expectations towards this record, however, The Killers never disappoints, so much emotion and epicness in every song makes this album the best from the last 3. Full Review »