“This is the world that we live in/we still want something real,” sings Brandon Flowers on the sprightly The World We Live In, towards the close of the band’s third full-length album, Day & Age. This simple paean taps into something The Killers have strived for throughout their young career. Namely: a heady ambition to be the voice of a generation, while still remaining relevant. It’s an aspiration they have arguably yet to achieve – hampered by their equally strong desires to remain both popular and cutting edge.

Their debut Hot Fuss positioned them as new-wave influenced pop posies with an edge. 2006’s Sam’s Town, on the other hand, had them growing beards and talking about serious artistic conceits, fixated on Born To Run-era Springsteen. So what disguise does Day & Age see the four-piece donning? Well, the answer is a combination of both those albums.

Lead single Human was a good indication of what to expect, with its Euro disco pulse and glossy dance sheen courtesy of producer Stuart Price. Despite its head-scratching lyrics, the song is unmistakeably The Killers. It’s an obvious radio hit single that yearns to be anthemic and life-affirming, while never giving too much emotion away.

Thematically, Human is a good representation of the album as a whole, which never settles in any one musical territory. However, Day & Age is not a fragmentary experience. It’s held together by the boyish yelp of Flowers and the solid rhythm section of bassist Mark Stoermer and drummer Ronnie Vannucci. Stuart Price has aided in the band’s attempt to expand its musical horizons. Saxophone and studio-treated vocals appear on more than a few tracks, while I Can’t Stay features harp, steel drum and a samba-like shuffle. It’s a little twee at times, but it lends the album some colour and variety in areas where it would otherwise be bogged down.

A Dustland Fairytale references the devil, money, showdowns, an urban Cinderella and “the valley of the great divide” all in the space of one chorus. Flowers is once again aiming for epic narratives, sunken by his own clunky generalisations and cryptic metaphors. Joyride encapsulates the former: “When your chips are down/when your highs are low/Joyride”. The latter is on display in Spaceman: “The song maker says/ It ain’t so bad/The dream maker’s going make you mad.” Lest we forget that this was the same man who penned the very direct lyrics of early hits Mr. Brightside and Somebody Told Me. Thankfully the group’s gift for melody hasn’t dimmed.

Ultimately the search for the real Killers continues. It’s hard to pin down a band lost behind dazzling radio fodder such as Human, Spaceman and This Is Your Life. Day and Age certainly isn’t the fashionable or seriously-intentioned rock album The Killers seem to think it is. Given the quality of high-gloss pop on offer, though, that hardly matters.

Day & Age is out now through Universal. The Killers will headline V Festival 2009.