Wonderful Wonderful
by The Killers
  • 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. Mixed: 8 out of 25
  3. Negative: 1 out of 25
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  1. PopMatters
    Sep 25, 2017
    60
    Wonderful Wonderful is the sound of a band rediscovering why they’re even making music in the first place, embracing their eccentricities instead of merely playing into what’s expected of them. It will never be anyone’s favorite Killers album, but it’s the most fun we’ve had with them in years, and a hopeful sign of truly wonderful things yet to come.
  2. The Observer (UK)
    Sep 25, 2017
    60
    The most striking song (discounting the Personal Jesus reenactment The Calling) draws on Flowers’ own childhood experience: the surging, synth-laced Tyson vs Douglas, inspired by his shock when the champ hit the mat, could touch gloves with the band’s best.
  3. The Independent (UK)
    Sep 21, 2017
    60
    Wonderful Wonderful is an album that doesn’t let the listener look forward to the next track, because the album is restlessly glancing backwards over its shoulder, haunted by past successes of The Killers, and the great artists who came before them.
  5. Drowned In Sound
    Sep 20, 2017
    60
    In all, it’s an album with an admirable sense of ambition and innovation, a band pushing themselves sonically and lyrically in new directions; that they at times come up short is therefore a shame.
  6. Pretty Much Amazing
    Sep 25, 2017
    58
    On Wonderful Wonderful, there are glimpses of that ambition on an otherwise routine album from a top-notch band on autopilot. But if the Killers want to capture the moment like they did a decade ago, they’ll have to want it more.
  7. The A.V. Club
    Sep 20, 2017
    58
    That lack of any real direction or purpose colors all of Wonderful Wonderful, a record that, even by The Killers’ standards, boasts little depth beneath its glossy surface.
  8. Clash Music
    Sep 25, 2017
    50
    Aside from a few big hitters, Wonderful Wonderful has too many middle-of-the-road moments. ‘Life Itself’, ‘The Rut’, and ‘Have All The Songs Been Written’ are barely distinguishable, and instantly forgettable.
  9. Sputnikmusic
    Sep 25, 2017
    40
    The band is out of gas and has been for a while now. Wonderful Wonderful fills the same role as Battle Born, taking mid-tempo pop-rock with aimless verses and marrying them to one stab-at-the-radio chorus after another.

Awards & Rankings

62
#62 Most Discussed Album of 2017
64
#64 Most Shared Album of 2017

User Reviews

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User Score
8.2

Universal acclaim- based on 138 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 121 out of 138
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 138
  3. Negative: 5 out of 138
  1. Noiseblock
    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.    … Full Review »
  2. inner_bliss
    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. anama0319
    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 »
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