

The Killers’ third album marries the New Wave glitz of Hot Fuss with the unabashed stadium rock of Sam’s Town while taking a few unexpected—and sometimes interstellar—turns. “Losing Touch” shimmers in synths and sax before Brandon Flowers questions humanity in the euphoric synth-pop of “Human” and gets abducted by aliens in the Bowie-nodding “Spaceman.” They also try Duran Duran–style funk (“Joy Ride”) and some Caribbean grooves (“I Can’t Stay”) and drop the droning cinematic dirge “Goodnight, Travel Well.”