Simon LeBon, when touched by the hand of melancholy, never resorted to mid-pace soul-searching Rock N'Roll. He preferred BURT BACHARACH's syrup stringed grandiosity, ROXY MUSIC affected crooning or even CHIC's escapist funkisms.

He also didn't have those Fix You synths from COLDPLAY.

That's what strikes me when listening to the first single from DURAN DURAN's crowning heirs, THE KILLERS. It's much more A Night Like This or Just Like Heaven or even A Letter to Elise. When You Were Young is a mid-pace soul-searching Rock N'Roll tune. When You Were Young it's straightforward, melancholic, brooding. Sensitive, not emo. Electronic and Pop, not Technopop.

Brandon Flowers is no bard. His attempts sound as futile as ULTRAVOX's pseudo grandiosity. He would rather be served using what he has the best - his New Wave timbre - in unsettling ways reminiscent of 1987. And that's precisely what he does, from the second half on. His cohorts play loose and stringent, far removed from the tight sparky popfest of Somebody Told Me. That's what they call maturity. When I was young, at least, this was how things worked...

Nostalgy brings you stuff. When You Were Young reached #32 on Billboard's Hot 100 (#2 on Modern Rock Tracks). AllMusicGuide linked current THE KILLERS to U2 and BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN. I'd rather be with THE CURE and ICEHOUSE, though. See ya!

File under: mid-1980s-melancholy

Tracklist:

* * * * When You Were Young

Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Romancing