Day & Age

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title: "Day & Age" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["2008-albums", "albums-produced-by-stuart-price", "dance-rock-albums", "island-records-albums", "the-killers-albums", "synth-pop-albums-by-american-artists", "vertigo-records-albums"] topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_&_Age" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox album"]

Field	Value
name	Day & Age
type	studio
artist	the Killers
cover	The Killers - Day & Age.png
released
recorded	April–September 2008
studio	Battle Born (Las Vegas, Nevada)
genre	* Dance-rock
length
label	Island
producer	* Stuart Price
prev_title	Sawdust
prev_year	2007
next_title	Live from the Royal Albert Hall
next_year	2009
misc	{{Singles
name	Day & Age
type	studio
single1	Human
single1date	September 22, 2008
single2	Spaceman
single2date	November 4, 2008
single3	The World We Live In
single3date	May 18, 2009 (EUR)
single4	A Dustland Fairytale
single4date	June 9, 2009 (NA)
::

new wave
synth-pop | length = | label = Island | producer = * Stuart Price
The Killers | prev_title = Sawdust | prev_year = 2007 | next_title = Live from the Royal Albert Hall | next_year = 2009 | misc = {{Singles | name = Day & Age | type = studio | single1 = Human | single1date = September 22, 2008 | single2 = Spaceman | single2date = November 4, 2008 | single3 = The World We Live In | single3date = May 18, 2009 (EUR) | single4 = A Dustland Fairytale | single4date = June 9, 2009 (NA)

Day & Age is the third studio album by American rock band the Killers. It was released on November 18, 2008, by Island Records. Frontman and lead vocalist Brandon Flowers described it as the band's "most playful record". , Day & Age had sold three million copies worldwide. Following the release of the album, the band embarked on the Day & Age World Tour.

Production

The band began writing the tracks for Day & Age while on the road during the Sam's Town Tour. Producer Stuart Price had worked on a few remixes for the Killers, but the band had still never met him until they connected in London in 2006. Price and the band had dinner, before returning to his home studio and recording the lead single "Human" in two hours. The band recorded demos in Las Vegas and sent them to Price in London over the Internet, who would then call back to discuss the recordings. With the album largely done, the Killers met at their Las Vegas studio in May 2008 to put the finishing touches to the album. Flowers stated that the concept for the album is a "continuation" of Sam's Town, saying "it's like looking at Sam's Town from Mars".

When asked about the meaning behind the album's title, Flowers replied, "I don't know. You wait for moments. I just wait for it to come, and I knew that [Day & Age] was right when I had it." The album's title is also part of the lyrics to two of the album's tracks: "Neon Tiger" and "The World We Live In".

The Killers enlisted Paul Normansell to create the artwork for the album. Portraits of the band members themselves are included in the album. These portraits can be seen at various parts of the "Human" video, as well as the cover of Day & Age and the CD insert. On December 8, 2008, Rolling Stone named the album cover for Day & Age the best album cover of 2008. On December 15, Rolling Stone readers voted Day & Age the best album of 2008.

In an interview with Rolling Stone in September 2009, Flowers commented on the album, stating: ::quote "It sits well with our other two albums. It's obviously a little more on the pop end of things; it's not quite as masculine as Sam's Town, but I like it. 'Spaceman' is such a playful tune, it makes my body do things I've never done before. 'Human' is one of our best recordings so far. I don't think we've made our best album yet, and that makes me happy, to know it's still out there." ::

Singles

The first single from the album, "Human", was released to radio on September 22, 2008, and became available for download on September 30, 2008. The band performed "Human" and "Spaceman" on the October 4, 2008, episode of Saturday Night Live. They released the video for "Human" in October 2008.

"Spaceman" was released digitally on November 4, 2008, in the US. The vinyl edition was released in the US on November 18, 2008, and included a free download of the album from Island Records. The music video premiered in January 2009.

"The World We Live In" was released as the third single in Europe and Australia, while "A Dustland Fairytale" served as the third single in the United States. The single "The World We Live In" has been described as "a song that gives you a Disney/floating-in-the-air feeling" by music critic Brian Narvaez.

As with the album cover, the singles' covers were designed by Paul Normansell and consist of the same individual-band-member images that appear in the album's booklet. Dave Keuning's picture was used for the "Human" cover, and the "Spaceman" cover was Brandon Flowers. Ronnie Vannucci Jr.'s picture features on the single "The World We Live In". Mark Stoermer is on the cover for the single "A Dustland Fairytale".

Additionally, the band released a video for "Goodnight, Travel Well" in partnership with MTV EXIT, UNICEF, and USAID in order to raise awareness about human trafficking. It premiered globally on MTV on July 13, 2009, and on UNICEF's YouTube page the next day.

Tour

Main article: Day & Age World Tour

In support of the album, the Killers embarked on their third major concert tour, the Day & Age World Tour. The tour started on October 20, 2008, in Las Vegas, and ended on February 21, 2010, in Melbourne. During the tour, the band recorded their first live album, Live from the Royal Albert Hall, and played their first shows on the continent of Africa.

Critical reception

Day & Age received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 69, based on 31 reviews. Edna Gundersen of USA Today called Day & Age "outstanding" and "a fresh and immediate arena-rock triumph". She continued, "The sound isn't just bigger, it's transnational, yielding the kind of radiant, whip-smart rock album you seldom hear in this day and age." Jill Menze of Billboard called the album a "gamble" and said "if nothing else, this band keeps fans on their toes, and they're likely to buy in for another round." *Entertainment Weekly*s Leah Greenblatt commented on the album's influences from Duran Duran, Bono and David Bowie and ultimately said, "Like Vegas itself, Day & Age sometimes leans toward sensory overload. But the pull of its showgirls-and-fool's-gold glory is undeniable." Stacey Anderson of Spin called it "a respectably vivacious dance-rock album." Michael Franco of PopMatters stated, "The bulk of the album... sees the Killers doing what they do best: crafting new wave dance songs that sound like lost classics from the '80s."

In a mixed review, Ryan Dombal of Pitchfork characterized Day & Age as "the Killers' spitball album, the one where they try everything and see what works while Flowers grasps for a relatable tone." Q concluded that the album contained "four great songs, two so-so ones and four duds", while noting that "the spirit in which it was made merits goodwill." Drowned in Sound reviewer Andrzej Lukowski found that the Killers rarely deviated from "breezy synth pop" on what he ultimately termed "an enjoyable but fairly throwaway pop record."

Accolades

::data[format=table title="Awards and nominations for ''Day & Age''"]

Ceremony	Year	Award	Result	Brit Awards	Shockwaves NME Awards
2009	Best International Album
Best Album
Best Album Artwork
::

::data[format=table title="''Day & Age'' on critics' lists and readers' polls"]

Publication	Country	Accolade	Year
United Kingdom	250 Best Albums of Qs Lifetime 1986–2010	2011	144
50 Best Albums of the Year	2008	22
United States	Top 10 Albums of the Year	2
Readers' Top 30 Albums of 2008	1
Top Album Covers of 2008	1
Most Underrated Album of the Decade: Readers' Poll	2010	6
::

Commercial performance

Day & Age debuted at number six on the US Billboard 200, selling 193,000 copies in its first week. The album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on January 27, 2009, and by July 2012, it had sold 774,000 copies in the United States. Day & Age debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart with 200,299 copies sold in its first week, becoming the band's third consecutive number-one studio album on the chart. On February 12, 2010, it was certified four-times platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). , the album had sold 1.31 million copies in the United Kingdom.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Day & Age.

The Killers

Additional musicians

Daniel de los Reyes – additional percussion (tracks 4, 7)
Tommy Marth – saxophone (tracks 1, 4, 7)

Technical

Stuart Price – production, mixing
The Killers – production
Robert Root – engineering
Dave Emery – mixing assistance
Alex Dromgoole – mixing assistance
Ted Sablay – additional engineering (tracks 3, 6, 7)
Tim Young – mastering

Artwork

Paul Normansell – artwork, paintings
Erik Weiss – band photo
Julian Peploe Studio – package design
Kristen Yiengst – art/package coordination
Doug Joswick – package production

Studios

Battle Born Studios (Las Vegas, Nevada) – engineering
Olympic Studios (London) – mixing
Metropolis Studios (London) – mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

::data[format=table] | Chart (2008–2009) | Peak position | Croatian Albums (HDU) | European Albums (Billboard) | Greek Albums (IFPI) | Irish Albums (IRMA) | Japanese Albums (Oricon) | Mexican Albums (Top 100 Mexico) | Russian Albums (2M) | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | 9 | | | | | | | | | | 2 | | | | | | | | | | 1 | | | | | | | | | | 1 | | | | | | | | | | 26 | | | | | | | | | | 3 | | | | | | | | | | 14 | | | | | | | | | ::

Year-end charts

::data[format=table]

Chart (2008)	Position	Australian Albums (ARIA)	Greek International Albums (IFPI)	Irish Albums (IRMA)	Mexican Albums (Top 100 Mexico)	New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)	Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)	UK Albums (OCC)	Worldwide Albums (IFPI)
33
16
16
28
37
78
7
28
::

::data[format=table]

Chart (2009)	Position	Australian Albums (ARIA)	Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)	Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)	Canadian Albums (Billboard)	Danish Albums (Hitlisten)	European Albums (Billboard)	German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)	Mexican Albums (Top 100 Mexico)	Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)	UK Albums (OCC)	US Billboard 200	US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)	US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)
70
64
92
27
84
14
81
64
72
29
44
10
15
::

::data[format=table]

Chart (2010)	Position	UK Albums (OCC)
171
::

Certifications and sales

Release history

::data[format=table]

Region	Date	Format	Label
November 18, 2008		Island	B0012197-01
November 19, 2008		Universal	UICL-1085
November 21, 2008	602517872875
November 22, 2008	1785121
November 24, 2008	Digital download	Vertigo
CD	1785121
LP	1785123
November 25, 2008	CD	Island	B0012197-02
::

References

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Scaggs, Austin. (October 2, 2008). "Killers Return With Disco Epics".
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