#sam's town

[arosetolivefor]

Albums that turn 20 this year

[pressure-machine]

THE KILLERS perform When You Were Young on Saturday Night Live, September 2006

[hotfuss]

the killers in NME march 3 2007. photos by andy fallon

[deepdarkfandom]

chewing the walls

[micks-music-blog]

The Killers - When You Were Young [Sam's Town, 2006]

[legalparallelfifths]

killers by joão santana__

[brusradio]

Visit Original Link

d*wnlo@d

[falloutbradreviews]

The Killers – Hot Fuss

The 00s were home to what was known as the “post-punk revival,” but that was basically the indie-rock answer to genres like nu-metal, Brit-pop, and even hip-hop getting popular in the mainstream within the 00s. A lot of genres were becoming more commercialized at the time, and the post-punk revival was an attempt to bring back “back-to-basics” post-punk from the 1980s, along with influences from garage-rock, dance-punk, and genres from yesteryear. With a lot of bands coming up at the same time in the scene, there was a lot of bands that sound the same. I kind of talked about that when I talked about the debut We Are Scientists album recently; With Love & Squalor came out in 2005, and the post-punk revival was in full swing by that point, and because it was so popular, a lot of bands began sounding like each other. Bands just wanted to fit in with the trend, so their sound wasn’t anything unique or worthwhile. Bands like Bloc Party, Franz Ferdinand, and The Killers were already among royalty of the scene, but they really stuck out. The latter band is the one I’ll be talking about today, but you can’t call yourself a fan of 00s post-punk if you don’t like The Killers, or you’re at least not familiar with them. The Killers are synonymous with the post-punk revival, and there’s no way you listened to that type of music in the 00s without hearing their biggest hit (and one of the biggest hits of the decade), “Mr. Brightside.” The album that song came from, 2004’s Hot Fuss, is probably the best 00s post-punk revival album, but I don’t say that lightly. I mean, it may be among the best, if not the best, but it’s a great record.

Hot Fuss turned 20 last year, and I just picked up a copy recently, so I wanted to talk about it. This is an album that’s only grown on me with time, because I used to really enjoy it, but I feel as though I enjoy it way more now. “Mr. Brightside” is one of the most iconic songs of all time (read: iconic for white people everywhere), but the rest of the record has a lot of killer songs on it (pun intended). Part of the reason why this album works so well is vocalist Brandon Flowers. Eventually the band would kind of become Born In The USA era Bruce Springsteen clones, for better or worse, but Flowers has a sound all his own here. His voice is a big part of why this album is so good, but it doesn’t carry the album. Some bands have a vocalist that carries their albums, but The Killers isn’t totally like that. Flowers might be a great vocalist, but the rest of the band carries him as well. The hooks and rhythms on this album are utterly fantastic, but there are grooves for days. Songs like “Somebody Told Me,” “On Top,” and “Midnight Show” are so catchy, infectious, and wonderful, it’s unreal. Chances are, though, you already know every song on this album, and there’s not much else I can say about this album that hasn’t already been said in 20 years. I’m trying to find the right words to talk about this record, and you can talk about how much of an influence it is, but it’s one of those albums that everyone knows is a very influential album. There are a lot of bands these days that owe their success to The Killers, but Hot Fuss is one of those albums that you just know is good, and you already know how important it is.

The album is more than just “Mr. Brightside,” and unfortunately, the band will probably never live that song down. They’ll never eclipse that song, but that’s not their fault. It’s become an institution in society, and it’s one of those songs that everybody knows, even if you’re not into that style of music. The same thing goes for “Enter Sandman” by Metallica; you know that song, even if you’re not into heavy metal, but it’s a song that’s ubiquitous with them. Hot Fuss is just one of those iconic albums that you need to listen to if you consider yourself a music fan. It’s a fantastic slice of 00s post-punk revival that encapsulates the genre in a tight package, but it’s also accessible, catchy, and fun enough for anyone to really enjoy. Again, there’s not much more that I can say about this album that a million other people haven’t already said. This is an album that I would totally recommend, though, and if you haven’t heard it, get on that. Hot Fuss is an album that a lot of people my age (in their early 30s and late 20s) listened to when they first got into music, and it makes sense. It’s one of those albums that was everywhere in the early to mid-00s, and even as the band keeps trucking on, most people love their debut. They do have some more iconic albums under their belts, but I’ve always gravitated towards Hot Fuss more than any of their work. I love this album, and if you want some great post-punk, look no further than this album. You won’t be disappointed, although you’re about twenty years late to the party. Better late than never, am I right?