The BurgerBlog

The Killers

With a fantastic first and a dismal sophomore album, there are bound to be mixed feelings about The Killers’ latest album, Day and Age. Where are the heavy drums, the fake British accents, the 80’s feel that made Hot Fuss such a success that was scrapped in Sam’s Town? Never fear, Day and Age put The Killers in their place, finally funding songs similar to “Mr. Brightside.” The rocking beats and catchy melodies will leave fans wanting to jump up and dance, and music reviewers Smiling Because They Mean It.

“Bones” in Sam’s Town worked well with the flustered horns section backing up barking Flowers. “Losing Touch,” the opening track, uses the same technique and it sounds retro—so retro that it’s like what made Hot Fuss so popular. “Human,” the second track, is appealing and popular with crescendoing synths and an easy backbeat, not unlike The Cure at their height.

“Joy Ride” and “This Is Your Life” are the songs that Dave Byrne and The Talking Heads should have given birth to in 1988. Oh well, The Killers stole the style and it works well for them. The funk groove and nippy sax and synth hooks create an energetic celebration of the style that Sam’s Town was lacking.

The Killers know that they’ve nailed this album. Flowers attacks and masters the epics “The World We Live In” and “Goodnight, Travel Well.” The latter of the two is a seven-minute end to the album, where he belts,

“Stay, don’t leave me/The stars can’t for your sign/Don’t signal now/And there’s nothing I can say/There’s nothing I can do now.”

Appropriate for the end of the album? Entirely. The powerful conclusion seals the deal: Day and Age brings the fun of Hot Fuss with a new nip that will leave Killers fans craving more.

Rating: A-

Recommended Tracks: This Is Your Life, Human

Toss These Tracks: I Can’t Stay, Neon Tiger

The Killers

Where did Duran Duran and David Bowie go? The Killers seem to have found some new influence for their sophomore album, Sam’s Town, and it doesn’t work. “It’s not so bad, it’s not so bad,” Flowers begs in “Bling (Confession of a King)” with his American accent. Oh Brandon. It’s not awful, but it’s pretty grotesque.

What made Hot Fuss so successful was the synth filled 80′s-esque glam, which The Killers have traded in for Bob Dylan. The band seems to have taken what worked tactfully well in Hot Fuss, like catchy bass rifts and choruses, and injected it into their new sound. Unfortunately, little signatures do not make an album.

Sam’s Town is not all lost; it does hold a few singles, but it does take wading to get to them. “When You Were Young,” the third track on the album, sounds similar to “Mr. Brightside,” the smash single on Hot Fuss. The synths carry the snappy song, while Flowers belts, “He doesn’t look a thing like Jesus/But he talks like a gentleman/Like you imagined when you were young.”

“For Reasons Unknown” and “Bones” are also worth mentioning. “For Reasons Unknown” has a great buildup, but after hearing Flowers’ whine resonate throughout the song it becomes dull and irritating. “Bones,” however, is fun. The ska-ish horns give the punch that is lacking in the rest of the album. The song isn’t unlike “All These Things I’ve Done” in The Killers’ debut album.

In sum, nice try, but I believe that The Killers have a lot more talent that they could tap into. Hot Fuss worked; don’t fix what isn’t broken.

Rating: C-

Recommended Songs: Bones, When You Were Young

Toss These Songs: Uncle Johnny, My List’, ‘The Killers: Sam’s Town

Well somebody told me/You had a boyfriend/Who looked like a girlfriend/That I had in February of last year

The Killers

I looked at the radio incredulously. It was the fourth song on the mystery album that my friend Lindsay was showing me. The band was British—or at least they had British accents—and sounded like they could have gone on tour with The Talking Heads or The Smiths. They were flashy and fabulous, everything that an 80′s pop band should have been. I caved and asked for the CD. Lindsay smiled knowingly and handed me a hardcopy of Hot Fuss, The Killers’ debut album. Five years later, The Killers is one of the most popular bands around the world, and Hot Fuss is kept close. However, I only listen to the first half of the CD; it’s the only part of the album worth listening to.

It turns out that Brandon Flowers, lead singer of The Killers, is not British but in fact from Las Vegas. He brings the glamour of the city to his work, and it works well for the beginning of the CD. Take “Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine,” the opening track. The bass curves a repetitive and catchy hook around the entire tune, the drums clash heavily, the synths have a simple but memorable solo, and Brandon Flowers, the man who makes this band, chants strange lyrics and ends his piece with a scream “ooh, oh, ooooooh.” It’s fun, and this is the case for the following tracks.

“Mr. Brightside” has a beautiful intro: first the guitar enters innocently, then a quick drum beat, then Flowers, bass, synths. The result? A high paced rock song. “Mr. Brightside” is the best known song by The Killers and a gem from Hot Fuss. The following two songs, “Smile Like You Mean It” and personal favorite “Somebody Told Me” are equally well written.

Then “All These Things That I’ve Done” happens. This track stands on its own; it’s beautiful, ending with a whole chorus crescendoing into a belted “I’ve got soul but I’m not a soldier.” Fantastic.

And that’s where Hot Fuss loses steam. The following tracks are largely unmemorable. They have no bite. In “Change Your Mind” and “Believe Me Natalie,” you find all of The Killers’ sound, but a lack of structure. Then there’s “Everything Will Be Alright.” If I have to listen to this song again I will not be all right. It’s slow, boring, and reminds me of drowning.

Hot Fuss gets it half right. The quality music that it produces is fantastic, and the near misses will hopefully be remedied in their sophomore album.

Rating: B

Recommended Songs: All These Things That I’ve Done, Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine, Somebody Told Me

Toss These Songs: Everything Will Be Alright, Change Your Mind