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| 2005 reissue |
release date: Jun. 7, 2004
format: cd (LTD. 2005 reissue)
[album rate: 4 / 5] [4,04]
producer: Jeff Saltzman, The Killers
label: Island Records - nationality: USA
Track highlights: 1. "Jenny Was a Friend of Mine" - 2. "Mr. Brightside" (4,5 / 5) - 3. "Smile Like You Mean It" (5 / 5) - 4. "Somebody Told Me" (4 / 5) - 5. "All These Things That I've Done" (5 / 5) - 6. "Andy, You're a Star" - 7. "On Top" (4 / 5) - 9. "Believe Me Natalie" - *12. Glamorous Indie Rock & Roll - *14. Under the Gun
*Bonus track on 2005 reissue, Limited Edition
Studio album debut by The Killers consisting of vocalist Brandon Flowers (also credited on synths), guitarist Dave Keuning, bassist Mark Stoermer, and with drummer Ronnie Vannucci, Jr. The 2005 Limited Edition reissue contains three bonus tracks with a total running time at 56 minuntes (the standard album runs 45 mins.). Most of the tracks are co-written by Flowers together with either Keuning or Stoermer as musical composer.
The Las Vegas-founded quartet is one among many bands hitting off on the post-punk revival wave of the early noughts, but The Killers is a special band who makes its distinct positive version of post-punk. Lyrically, it may not be in concordance with the majority of that style's original artists of the early 1980s, and one may argue that it's not really post-punk. At least it's a fine combination of pop / rock, synth-rock in the lighter end of alt. rock with traces of post-punk. Perhaps, you could argue that The Killers share traits with American colleagues of My Chemical Romance, The Rapture and later on, The Bravery, all of them with bold focus on harmony-based post-punk and / or power pop. Furthermore, the style also share stylistic influence with that of early Depeche Mode and a more pop-oriented New Order, which may just explain The Killers' huge and immediate success in Britain.
Hot Fuss is one of my favourites of 2004, one of the best albums of the decade, and in retrospect, it also remains the band's best effort ever.
Tracks #2-5 are included on the best of album Direct Hits (2013).
[ allmusic.com 3 / 5, Rolling Stone 3,5 / 5, The Times 5 / 5 stars ]
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| 2004 standard edition |
