The Killers- Hot Fuss


I'll say one thing about The Killers debut album, "Hot Fuss": What the band lacks in passion, or even talent, they make up for in fashion sense. I guess it's up to you whether or not that is a good thing.

As the "booming indie scene", as well as the slowly dying dance-punk movement collectively take over the airwaves, The Killers are a prime example of how to quickly wear out your welcome. Their rehashing of the all too familiar sounds of bands like New Order, and other 80's and 90's Brit-pop acts comes a tad too late, in my opinion. Don't get me wrong, the band has a real, and fairly solid knack for writing hooks in their music, as well as their lyrics-which are just clever enough to not be annoying- but the Killers rarely add any more depth to their sound than stacking on more and more keyboards, and layered guitar riffs.

The albums opening track, "Jenny Was a Friend of Mine" is a somewhat poignant tale, and a wonderful introduction. It can doubly serve as a pitch perfect depiction of what this band could be if they had real heads on their shoulders. Sadly, however, it's all downhill after that point as "Hot Fuss" hits the switch for autopilot, and the public is delivered our "flavor of the month".

Sparks of life follow on tracks like "Mr. Brightside", and the hit single "Somebody Told Me", but all in all The Killers and their Pseudo-artistic portrayal of "cool" post-punkers becomes hard to stomach at times. There's nothing wrong with simply delivering some fun music for the kids-and most people will accept "Hot Fuss" as just that-but there is an overwhelming feeling of fakeness here that I believe is quite evident...it may lead to a very short 15 minutes.