The Killers - Hot Fuss (2004)

Take a bunch of anglophiles from Las Vegas, add a giant slab of retro cool, sprinkle a pinch of concentrated melody, boil under the midday sun and what is get is the sumptuous aural feast that is Hot Fuss. You should know them by now and even if you don’t recognise the name you’ve been whistling their tunes. This album certainly captures the zeitgeist, a band with influences clearly derived from the past adding their own spin and making it sound contemporary. Straight from the off the chords are big, forceful and while ‘Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine’ might not always hit the bullseye it colours itself in a neat Cure like embrace. ‘Smile You Mean It’ is similarly inclined with Brandon Flowers aping Robert Smith to great effect as the soaring keyboards reign supreme.

‘Somebody Told Me’ has been with us so long it almost seems as if it comes from a different age. Its underlying rhythm is hypnotic, the momentum quickly switching between frantic to downright epileptic. The production is raw often coming across as an energetic demo. ‘All The Things That I’ve Done’ is a lot more amenable to the casual listener. The riffs are round and welcoming and the chorus has an anthemic cigarette lighter in the air quality. It even boasts a line that could well be the Killers tag line ‘I got soul, but I'm not a soldier’. ‘Mr Brightside’ is as good as guitar driven pop gets. There is no faffing about as the song kicks off with the clearest of intentions. All the ingredients are present; the driving riff courtesy of David Keuning, the angular vocals and a chorus so wholesome you’ll feel like pinching its cheek. This is a modern classic that will be with us until we’re eating mashed bananas. ‘Everything Will Be Alright’ has the aforementioned goth’s angst in spades marking itself out as the only slow effort on the whole disc. Flowers vocals sound as if have been squeezed through a Korg after one too many pints of imported bitter.

There are so many highlights on ‘Hot Fuss’ it comes as a bit of a surprise to discover a fair sprinkle of clunkers along the way. ‘Andy, You’re A Star’ is one such, turgid guitars underpin a stop-start lyric delivery that should never have developed beyond the embryonic stage. ‘On Top’ is better but suffers under the weight of ordinary ideas. The Killers hold sway in the efficient delivery of a winning chorus but here a patient wait results in minimal reward. ‘Midnight Show’ also flatters to deceive, it blusters about, cutting an impressive silhouette but underneath the exterior beats a hollow yoke. Thankfully ‘Change Your Mind’ has none of these problems; this could pass for a winning Strokes effort. The guitars march persuasively, organs drone like well oiled engines and the clean beat tidies the package into a perfectly formed bundle of noise.

Hot Fuss is not a genetically cohesive unit, it falters from time to time but its working parts are practically superhuman. All in all it is a stellar debut spiked with several moments guaranteed to brighten up your day. There were better albums in 2004 but the Killers knack of knocking out drop dead gorgeous tunes has meant that this albums profile rose meteorically with each single release. Hot Fuss provides a good argument for downloader’s whose preference it is to pick-and-choose album tracks rather than buying the whole product.

Rating: 7/10

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