Sharing the mic and amp with Lou Reed of The Velvet Underground on the opening track, perhaps it’s no surprise that The Killers chose their newest album - Sawdust, released yesterday - as the one on which they’d walk the talk and put the alternative back in their rock.

“Tranquilize” opens the album with the almost terrifyingly hollow vocals of frontman Brandon Flowers and Reed, gradually melding the Las Vegas rockers’ signature synths with a haunting chorus of children singing “Steal a car and ring-a-round rosy/Rock and roll, candyland, boogeyman…”

“Shadowplay” - a Joy Division cover - takes The Killers further underground, with sharp, crackling vocals and distorted orchestration reminiscent of a time before pop. Not all of the songs on “Sawdust” are new - or even fresh, for that matter.

In addition to “Shadowplay,” many of the tracks are updated takes on several Killers crowd favorites reaching back to 2003, such as “Glamorous Indie Rock ‘n’ Roll” and “Who Let You Go?” Yet this album is not another “Hot Fuss,” nor is it another “Sam’s Town.” And while it certainly fits the glam-rock title bestowed upon the formerly eye-liner-wearing boys from Vegas, it represents a deliberate return to the progressive, alternative and ultimately indie roots of their youth.

The lyrics are biting, the vocals are raspy melodic, and the orchestration is raw. Standout track “Move Away” - from the “Sam’s Town” sessions of ‘06 - is phenomenal, a perfect harmony of Flowers’ gorgeous vocals and the band’s considerable instrumental firepower.

Sawdust isn’t so much an album of what has been as it is a glimpse at what might be. We can only hope.

Rating: 4/5