The Killers - Hot Fuss
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CD Details
Artist: The KillersEdition: Music CD
Published: 2004
CD Release Date: 2004-06-15
Music Label: Island
Soundtracks:
- Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine
- Mr. Brightside
- Smile Like You Mean It
- Somebody Told Me
- All These Things That I've Done
- Andy, You're A Star
- On Top
- Change Your Mind
- Believe Me Natalie
- Midnight Show
- Everything Will Be Alright
Music reviews of Hot Fuss
Music Review: The Killers force '80s rock and '00s rock into bed. The resulting child is plagued with birth defects...
Rating: 2 Stars
The Killers really suck, you know that? My reaction to most of this album is "These guys are irritating." And since I'm not really seeing any redeeming facets to Brandon Flowers' obnoxious voice or the group's style-over-substance sound, I can't go "These guys are irritating, but they can really play their instruments" or "These guys are irritating, but they've got a unique sound" or whatever. It's just "These guys are irritating." Here's what Hot Fuss is in a nutshell: an '80s pop album for a new generation. If I liked '80s pop, then I'd probably love this album as much as the rest of the world does. But I hate '80s pop with a screaming, searing, blinding passion. So I'm not exactly privy to the idea of the dancey, stylish synthesizer blips that show up all over the record and sap all of the enjoyment out of many songs (the big hit "Smile Like You Mean It," "On Top," "Jenny Was a Friend of Mine," "Andy, You're a Star"). There's clearly a market for it, since back in '04 when this came out, the Killers were the darlings of both the American and the British music press. But their routine is getting old. They can't really write lyrics, either. I know this is a common criticism, but listen to how lame this stuff is! From "Somebody Told Me" (terrible song, by the way) - "Somebody told me/that you had a boyfriend/that looked like a girlfriend I had/February of last year/It's not confidential/And I've got potential." Or from the hit "All These Things I've Done," which I think actually mixes '80s synths and '00s alternative rock quite well, has a catchy refrain, and is by far the best song on this album, "I've got soul, but I'm not a soldier." How about the "Last chance to find a go-go dancer, disco now" and the "There is an old clich? under your Monet, baby" thing on "Believe Me, Natalie" or the "Hey, shut up!"'s of "Andy, You're a Star?" The most annoying part of these is not the lyrics themselves, but Brandon Flowers' delivery. I've already mentioned he annoys me, but I don't think I've properly expressed how much I want to kick him in the crotch every time he opens his mouth. See, he sings these lyrics as if he is the epitome of style, grace, and wit. And all of the idiotic synthesizers, which he is solely responsible for, sound so bad that it makes me happy whenever I hear a simple guitar-based track, even if said song is mediocre ("Change Your Mind," the non-synthy parts of "Midnight Show"). I don't mind the sound of the synthesizer itself - Stevie Wonder, Prince, Bernie Worrell, and Pete Townshend are all geniuses in my opinion, and they heavily use synthesizers - but whereas they try to make honestly good, heartfelt music with them, the Killers use them as a crutch, trying to see what weird sounds they can coax out of them to cover for the fact that they don't have any talent in the important departments of songwriting and instrumental aptitude. "Everything Will Be All Right" especially suffers from this. I guess the huge single "Mr. Brightside" is kind of catchy the first time around, but lyrically speaking it's a carbon copy of David Bowie's "Queen Bitch." Not only to they have the same theme, about a guy's misadventures with a hooker, but they also have virtually the same lyrics - the "She's getting in a cab" and "It could have been me" parts are suspiciously similar. David Bowie is much more talented than any of the Killers put together, too. That doesn't help the latter group's case. So "All These Things I've Done" is good, "Mr. Brightside" and "Change Your Mind" are decent, and I at least like parts of "Midnight Show." Still... God, these guys are irritating.
Description of Hot Fuss
Hot Fuss features eleven nuggets of reel-you-in storytelling genius and musical nectar. These eleven tracks span from the "very Vegas - like Ziggy came to town" first proper single release "Somebody Told Me";"Mr Brightside" - a tale of jealousy that depicts that moment in a relationship when you realize that your other half might be playing away and this thought takes up residence in your psyche feeding the worst fears and visualisations your imagination can then throw at you. You'll find two-thirds of a murder trilogy in "Midnight Show", which starts off harking back to "Lipgloss" before veering into far darker territory than old Jarvis would ever have flirted with, in Pulp days at least, and "Jenny". These two are connected by the story of a murder of a girl by her jealous boyfriend. The first part of the trilogy, "Leave The Bourbon On The Shelf", will, you can be sure, make an appearance at some point in the future. It's a deliciously ambitious series that! belies the band's tender years. Elsewhere, meanwhile: "On Top" celebrates where Brandon feels the band is at, while stalker's tale "Andy You're A Star" and "All These Things That I've Done," saw Flowers realise his dream of using a gospel choir in their recordings.The Killers match postpunk guitars with a synthesizer overlay that recalls '80s New Wave without burying their sound in nostalgia. On their debut, Hot Fuss, frontman Brandon Flowers plumbs his imagination for tales of murdered lovers ("Jenny Was a Friend of Mine," "Midnight Show"), voyeurism ("Mr. Brightside"), and sexual confusion (the single "Somebody Told Me"), Flowers and his mates are obviously canny students; the total effect is of a playacted obsession, but one made irresistible by their skillful, catchy songs. If there's an occasional misstep (the painfully earnest line "I got soul but I'm not a soldier" from "All These Things That I've Done"), it seems of a piece with the Killers' influences. As it is, Hot Fuss is one of several recent releases that bring a diverting faux glamour to the mainstream rock scene. --Rickey Wright
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