Killer Keuning
“Prismism” , try saying that after a few drinks, I’ve only got tea and I’m struggling, Dave please put that dictionary down. This is the debut offering from Dave Keuning( The Killers) and serves up an absolute corker of a record.
Overall it is reminiscent of OMD and other synth pop/rock bands, quite graceful and gentle in its disposition. I like The Killers anyway, especially the earlier music, it’s just great and here we see guitarist Dave go it alone and provide an enormous comfort blanket to console and care for the needy.
Opener “Boat Accident” tells of how “I can’t sleep but I can dream” and the threat of “in time they’re gonna find you out”, showcasing his twinkling tonsils and twinkling fingers.
The offer to “leave your baggage behind”, from “The Night” I mean how grand does that sound? Probably my favourite track on the record.
We continue in a similar vein, plenty of keyboards to keep us entertained, and just settle down, unwind and cosy up to the cat.
The title song has an almost robotic effect and acapella feel, great arrangement, much slower in pace.
“Restless Legs” is next in the procession and is a very clap along type of song, again easy to listen to and consume.
“I’m stuck , stuck in a circumstance” from “Pretty Faithful” is like a playful puppy, friendly and you can stroke its belly quite happily.
It is a crisp, clean and cohesive effort, capitalising on his experience albeit in a different way.
I love the keyboards on “Broken Clocks” and the words “try and understand my situation, all I feel is strangulation” arguably a feeling most of us have had and a frustration we have endured.
The space age sounding “Stuck Here On Earth” has a to infinity and beyond feeling and “we pray for the rain but then drown in the flood”, lyrics that are relatable and honest, somehow, they make more sense when put to music.
“How it ends nobody knows” also highlights the uncertainty we all face.
I can tell you how this ends though, with “Hope and Safety” and how we all need rescuing at some point.
“In the name of hope and safety, in the hope that someone saves me.”
Tugging on the heartstrings and awakening our yearnings and desires- oh Mr Keuning, you read my mind.
Dave Keuning – Prismism out now on Thirty Tigers