Sunday, December 2, 2007

The Killers - Hot Fuss



Hot Fuss is a pretty good album, a nice merger of that modern style of critically acclaimed rock I honestly don't like that much with some synthetic touches. When vocalist Brandon Flowers actually sings, he has a pretty good voice, my only problem is that all too often he just sort of half-heartedly shouts the lyrics. The problem grows a bit when the songs seem as focused on the vocals as they often do. The rest of the band members, especially the guitarist, can be solid musicians, they just don't stand out that much. Most of the tracks do have something to like though, and it's enjoyable music as long as you don't try to read into it too much. The lyrics often don't make sense, but that's only ever a problem for me if they're painful to listen to, and these are just a bit odd. The Killers are probably their best when they aren't sounding like every other mainstream rock band.

"Jenny Was a Friend of Mine" contains one of the only instances of enjoyable bass-playing on the album, as it intermingles with high-pitched keys and crashing guitars. "Mr. Brightside" is my favorite of the two singles, with it being catchier than "Somebody Told Me" and a bit less repetitive, although that's not a bad song either. "Smile Like You Mean It" has a haunting and memorable synth part that drives the track, and helps make it one of the best. "All These Things That I've Done" is one of the more deliberate tracks, and isn't that entertaining besides an enjoyable detour with a choir repeating "I've got soul but I'm not a soldier". "On Top" is one of the more over-the-top techno sounding songs. As the album starts dragging, "Midnight Show" helps bring it back a bit, being pretty energetic and having a nice chorus. "Everything Will Be Alright" ends it in strange style, a slow-paced, odd song that is nonetheless compelling as Flowers repeatedly wails the title. If you enjoyed the singles at all I'd recommend giving it a shot.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

dude, if you think their guitarist is "good," you must think Coldplay's guitarist is too. (i.e. they both suck and play generic, boring shit)

i like them. they rip off the right bands and it comes off well. Sam's Town is a much better album, IMO.

Adrenaline said...

What I meant more wasn't that he's good, because it's really simple, but that he's effective at his style, which again, I'm not that fond of.

Anonymous said...

yeah, i see what you're saying. he's not flashy or all that interesting, in the context of their band, he provides what they need.