The Killers - Hot Fuss
Rating
RIYL
LongwaveInterpol
Stellastar
The Faint
The Cure
Label
IslandTracklist
1. Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine2. Mr. Brightside
3. Smile Like You Mean It
4. Somebody Told Me
5. All These Things That I've Done
6. Andy, You're A Star
7. On Top
8. Change Your Mind
9. Believe Me Natalie
10. Midnight Show
11. Everything Will Be Alright
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There are some albums that are synonymous with times of the year. Winter brings albums that are dark and heavy, spring tends to have hopeful, impactful albums (for me this year's spring album was The Spill Canvas' "Sunsets and Car Crashes") and the summer brings you sunny, get up and dance, feel good, barbeque, block party albums. Nothing says "sunny, get up and dance, feel good, barbeque, block party album" like The Killers' debut "Hot Fuss."
The Killers are a four piece band out of Las Vegas, but at first listen you'd swear they are from New York City. They take the new wave, retro sound, that bands like Interpol and Longwave do so well, to a whole new level. It is nearly perfection. The album's first single "Somebody Told Me" almost glows with electricity. The sythesizers, and bass carry this song while the guitar plays a back up role. It tells the story of finding out the ex has a new love interest, with one of the best choruses in recent history: "Somebody told me you had a boyfriend that looked like a girlfriend I had in February of last year..." The song builds momentum until you are dancing at the end. Another standout track is "Backburner." It starts out uninterestingly enough, but builds into a crescendo of "I've got soul but I'm not a soldier," in a gospel choiresque 6 parts. The fun doesn't stop.
I don't want to make this out to sound like this is the perfect album, because it lacks a few very important things. First is lyrical depth. The songs tell stories, but are totally straightforward. If you like the challenge of finding songs' meanings you will be disapointed. The other major flaw is that this has definately been done before. The Killers sound like any number of bands from the 80's and even some from today like the already mentioned Longwave and Interpol. There is one song that is virtually indistinguishable from Interpol...I won't give it away though.
Yes, this stuff has been done before, several times over, but never this good. "Hot Fuss" is the perfect summer album and a magnificant debut for The Killers. Mark June 15 on your calendars boys and girls.
-JohnnyL
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