Artist The Killers
Album Sam’s Town
Released 2006
Label Island
The Killers were formed in Las Vegas in 2002 by Brandon Flowers, Dave Kuening, Mark Stroemer and Ronnie Vannucci Jr. Their new wave-influenced rock was an immediate hit and their 2004 debut Hot Fuss sold over five million copies. Its success was buoyed by the singles “Mr. Brightside”, which was a huge radio hit despite only reaching No.10 on UK and US singles charts, and “Somebody Told Me”, which reached No.3 in the UK.
The Killers introduced themselves to the world on Hot Fuss with the giddiness of a little boy discovering his erection. Their perky retro-pop was impossible to ignore, mostly because it bore the dubious/genius distinction of being so cross-appealing that every radio station in the world without “Jamz” in its slogan was able to integrate it into their playlists. Hot Fuss was, literally and figuratively, a record full of instant singles; literally, because no less than 5 of the album’s 11 cuts eventually made it into heavy rotation, and figuratively, because the other 6 could have easily been added if the band had decided to drag their lone release out over another couple of tours.
This is, unquestionably, a tough act to follow, and more often than not, musicians in The Killers precarious plight of having to prove that they’re real bands with a substantial career to offer end up excreting cobbled together sophomore releases that not only fail to re-capture the magic that brought them to our attention to begin with, but do so in such a miserable fashion that they make us wonder why we gave a shit the first time. Up until now, this was known as “Third Eye Blind Syndrome”, but history may soon morph the phenomenon’s distinction into “The Killers Syndrome”.
Singer Brandon Flowers has wiped off his mascara and started dressing like Wyatt Earp, and I imagine this is supposed to clue us in to the band’s alleged “re-invention”. But, listening to Sam’s Town, repetition seems to be the primary focus.
So much of the pre-press has promised that the band was moving away from their previous 80′s-tinged territory and expanding their influences toward classic arena wailers like U2 (who they already sounded like), Bruce Springsteen (who they don’t sound remotely like), and Queen (who they bear no resemblance to now that the make-up isn’t a factor). And, so far, the band’s write-ups have been echoing these sentiments, which further supports my theory that mainstream rock critics don’t actually listen to records, so they construct their reviews from the presskits that accompany them. I’ve read Springsteen’s name in at least four reviews of Sam’s Town, and each of these mentions seem to be derived exclusively from the four seconds of synthesized saxophone in “Bones”.
So, if not Bruce, then what exactly does Sam’s Town sound like? It’s a great question.
Garbage is the simplest answer I can think of, though I’m not referring to the band. Given The Killers pre-proven penchant for crafting deft melodies and solid hooks, the absence of either on Sam’s Town is the most striking thing about the disc. If that was the goal in the “re-invention” strategy, then kudos to the band for removing all of the enjoyable qualities from their music.
What Sam’s Town amounts to is a watered-down recycling of the non-radio cuts off Hot Fuss, as performed by a band who hasn’t had the luxury of honing their tunes while they await their big break. Though they attempt to twist some alternate dimensions into their template, the results are simply laughable. The only truly new element here is the presence of a musical-theater-cheesy dandiness that echoes the most overwrought material in the Meatloaf catalog.
The aping doesn’t end there, however. “Read My Mind” borrows-actually, f**k it, I’ll say it-unapologetically steals its keyboard intro from Van Halen’s “Love Walks In”. Throughout the disc, Flowers alternately tries to mimic Robert Smith, whose dramatic sensibility and morose power he lacks, and Rivers Cuomo, whose smirking wit and clever delivery he can’t capture. “For Reasons Unknown” lifts its chi from a source less likely to ponder a lawsuit: The Killers themselves. The chorus of that number repeats the tone, the chords, and even the cadence of “Mr. Brightside”.
Even when the band gets close to crafting a serviceable tune, which nearly occurs on “Uncle Jonny”, pungent couplets like, “While everyone else did refrain/ my uncle Jonny did cocaine” and, “If the future is real/ Jonny, you’ve got to deal” quickly deflate any aural enthusiasm.
Ultimately, what we learn during Sam’s Town is that The Killers desperately want to be taken-groan-seriously, and they think tacking operatic stanzas onto a collection of underdeveloped tunes is the best way to earn that respect. It’s a real shame, because mindless fun was the best gift they had to offer. Stripped of that, Sam’s Town is the tedious and forgettable sound of a band ticking their way into a sixteenth minute that really didn’t have to be here so soon.
The Killers apparently remain optimistic, however. As Flowers Elton Johns his way through the perplexingly titled “Exitlude” flanked by a chorus of overdubs, he croons a final message to his listeners: “We hope you enjoyed your stay.” Sorry, dude, not one bit.
- By TAYLOR KINGSBURY
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