Key didn’t make us wait too long before coming back with some more bangers! The singer has just released the Repackage version of his 2nd album Gasoline, with this version having the title Killer. Along with the entire tracklist of Gasoline, the new repackage features three new songs, “Heartless,” “Easy,” and the titular “Killer.”
With his previous releases of Gasoline and his first mini-album Bad Love, Key has shown his appreciation for 80’s music, and “Killer” is no exception. The track wastes no time pulling listeners into the synth-heavy and neon lights of the decade. With a driving drum machine beat and intergalactic synths, the whole song is a blast from the past. The pop music of the 80s brought listeners into a world full of futuristic sounds and landscapes, and Key achieves that same sensation in spades. Each layer in the production is clear and has a distinct part in the build of the whole track. Each listen, something new is heard, keeping us eager to go back to the song over and over again.
The topic of a love gone wrong is no stranger to Key, who tackled it in tracks like the aptly titled “Bad Love,” previously, but makes it work each time that he constantly finds new phrases and word choices to explore the topic with. The chorus is incredibly catchy, with the repetition of the song title, along with the word “thriller,” not just functioning as a rhyme but as a nice little reference to a certain extremely famous ‘80s track from the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. “Tragedy / In comedy’s clothing / Comes creeping / As if mocking me,” Key laments in the second verse. As to be expected from the seasoned vocalist, Key’s vocals are in top form, giving all he’s got to every line.
“Killer” is a fantastic case study in taking musical influence from decades past and making it stand strong amongst other more modern-sounding releases. It pulls on the nostalgic sounds many associates with some of the best music to come out of the ‘80s and commits 100 percent to it. It’s an incredible earworm that’ll have anyone listening dancing along.
