Musical Thesis: The Killers “Wonderful Wonderful”

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At the center of every album is a musical thesis. This thesis can be the driving force behind the album, a theme that interweaves songs together, or a feeling you are left with after the very last song plays. With some albums, the thesis is easy to find. On others, it is hidden and requires you to be more than a passive listener. These reviews are not about rating an album. Instead, it is about uncovering a musical thesis.

The Killers have never been bashful about hailing from Las Vegas, Nevada. They did release an album titled, “Battle Born,” after all. In my estimation, “Wonderful Wonderful” is this band’s most Vegas-centric album. With a cast of characters, both personal and fictitious, it seems to me that the stories told here could only happen in one place in the world. Vegas serves as the backdrop, but each of the people we meet on this album seems to be wrestling with ego, measured self-importance, or defeat. In a city as splashy, attention-seeking, and self-absorbed as Las Vegas these are hefty themes to ponder, but in a land of paradoxes, I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

Be good to each other,

Nathan