CD Reviews

Big Talk | Big Talk

Epitaph (2011)

By RYAN REED | July 26, 2011

2.5 Stars

Following in the footsteps of perpetually uncool drummer-turned-solo artists Phil Collins and Don Henley, Killers stick-man Ronnie Vannucci tries his hand at writing '80s arena anthems while his main gig takes a time-out. Big Talk, the overblown result, is way catchier and more laughably stupid than anything the Killers have done since "Somebody Told Me." Vannucci as a vocalist and lyricist lacks the star power to keep up his larger-than-life showboating over the course of 40-plus minutes. For a while, though, it's a thrilling ride. "Katzenjammer" is the best Killers-related track in years, riding a sky-sized chorus and some of the slickest studio gloss a major label can afford (production by Joe Chiccarelli, mixing by Alan Moulder). "Replica," replete with gloriously cheesy synths and a mammoth guitar crunch, would be a surefire chart-topper in 1985. The influences are clear: Petty, Ocasek, Springsteen — all pretty big shoes to fill. "Getaways," with its palm-muted riffs and chugging beats, aims for prime Cars but ends up more Make Believe–era Weezer. And when Vannucci tries his hand at ELO-style psych-pop sweep in "The Next One Living," the effect is repetitive — and a bit queasy, given his desperately out-of-tune vocals. At the end of the day, there's only so much big talk a sane person can handle.

Review: Brandon Flowers | Flamingo
Brandon Flowers has gone on record saying he brought the songs on Flamingo to his fellow bandmates for the next Killers album and was given the brush-off.
Trans Am | What Day Is It Tonight? Trans Am Live, 1993 - 2008
Trans Am are distillers of guilty pleasures, mixing fat AOR riffs with sleazy electronic accents and a propulsive attitude typically reserved for arcade soundtracks. What Day Is It Tonight? covers the DC-area band’s 20-year history with high-quality, high-energy live cuts taken from their many tours.
Various Artists | Where the Action Is: Los Angeles Nuggets 1965 - 1968
More than three years in the making, the most recent installment of Rhino's legendary archival garage-rock series offers an amazingly comprehensive excavation of an absurdly fertile scene.
Various Artists | Nippon Girls: Japanese Pop, Beat & Bossa Nova 1966–1970
Girl-group records are great and everything, yet the countless compilations out there were becoming a little hit-or-miss until 2005, when the great Girl Group Sounds Lost and Found box set finally gave this diverse genre a proper taxonomy.
Various Artists | Casual Victim Pile: Austin 2010
The notion that regional musical flavors exist independently in American cities is quickly becoming an archaic truism, seeing as how the world really is a stage these days, at least in the digital sense.
Bearstronaut | Broken Handclaps
There's a distinct absence of wildlife or astronauts on Lowell electronica quartet Bearstronaut's latest release.
Avi Buffalo | Avi Buffalo
Look, I get it: the last thing we need right now is yet another band who can be described as “sun-baked,” “reverb-soaked,” or even just “psychedelic.” But Avi Buffalo (I know! An animal name to boot!) are worth your attention for a few reasons.
Review: Kevin Dunn | No Great Lost: Songs 1979–1985
Casa Nueva Industries (2010)
Review: Crocodiles | Sleep Forever
With remarkable swiftness, Crocodiles tick off all the key characteristics of a band in the thriving lo-fi indie/punk/garage scene.
Review: Teengirl Fantasy | 7AM
If the demise of traditional record making is designed to foster any band’s fruitful existence, it’s that of Teengirl Fantasy.
Review: Screaming Females | Castle Talk
Screaming Females are one of those rare examples of a band who fester so long in the dark — in this case, the teeming basements of New Brunswick, New Jersey — that they sour into something great by the time anyone’s heard of them.
Review: Needy Visions | Needy Visions
The Needy Visions are all about fun, and goddamn do I wish I had their latest homonymous release at the beginning of summer.
Less

Topics: CD Reviews , Music, The Killers, Ronnie Vannucci, More

| More

Most Popular

The Current Issue

Table of Contents

Cover Archive

Masthead | Authors | Contact us

Blogs

Where To Follow Me
Talking Politics | March 24, 2013 at 11:09 AM

Mo Takes His Turn
March 21, 2013 at 12:59 PM

[Q&A] KMFDM's Sascha Konietzko on art, Columbine and having balls
On The Download | March 18, 2013 at 3:22 PM

See this film series: The Belmont World Film Series @ Studio Cinema in Belmont
Outside The Frame | March 18, 2013 at 11:00 AM

See this film: This is Spinal Tap [with post-film talk by expert from Acoustical Society of America] @ the Coolidge
March 17, 2013 at 12:00 PM

ARTICLES BY RYAN REED

WAVVES | AFRAID OF HEIGHTS | March 18, 2013
"I Can't Dream," the closer on Wavves' fourth studio album, opens in a drunken lo-fi stupor — Nathan Williams warbling bratty, tone-deaf nonsense over hissy acoustic power chords.

THE VIRGINS | STRIKE GENTLY | March 06, 2013
After a half-decade of semi-obscurity, frontman Donald Cumming is redefining his band as the hipster sultans of swing.

ATOMS FOR PEACE | AMOK | February 26, 2013
Kid A , Radiohead's confounding electro-rock masterpiece, is officially hitting puberty.

ATLAS GENIUS | WHEN IT WAS NOW | February 20, 2013
Atlas Genius are schooled students of modern pop architecture, seamlessly bouncing from Coldplay-styled acoustic rock to fizzy Phoenix funkiness to deadpanned Strokes-ian guitar chug. But When It Was Now is more like an alt-pop NOW compilation than a joyous synthesis.