The Killers - Sam's Town: Album Review

The Killers, Sam's Town (Island, 2006)
This follow-up to the Killers' 2004 mega-smash Hot Fuss is said to have been influenced by the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. I thought the lead single "When You Were Young" was incredible, but I'm hearing mixed things about the album itself.

SAM'S TOWN

I like the epic, ridonkulous way this begins. The song itself though is nothing special, and some of the lyrics are pretty silly.

ENTERLUDE

A Sgt. Peppers-style intro. Really stupid.

WHEN YOU WERE YOUNG

The amazing lead single. They may have even managed to make it sound somewhat louder on the album version, which is telling.

BLING (CONFESSIONS OF A KING)

Awful, awful title. The song itself is not much either, but the chorus halfway saves. And there's some pretty interesting production flourishes.

FOR REASONS UNKNOWN

Really, really cliche. Opening line: "Pack my case, wash my face/ I look a little bit older." The chorus sounds pretty generic as well, which is obviously going to be an issue.

READ MY MIND

This one actually makes reference to "breaking out of this two-star town." Better than that last one though.

UNCLE JOHNNY

Chorus: "While everybody else refrained/ My uncle Johnny did cocaine." The album's first complete and utter abortion.

BONES

The second single. Supposedly, Tim Burton is doing the video for it. It somehow manages to be both poppier and even more ridonkulous than "When You Were Young." It's a pretty amazing feat, actually.

MY LIST

The first minute or so of this is nothing but a synthesizer drone. Then it builds up to a pretty ridonkulous (think "Piano Man") singalong.

THIS RIVER IS WILD

Speaking of ridonkulous, I find myself playing this over and over just to chuckle at the way Brandon Flowers shouts, "This river is wild!"

WHY DO I KEEP COUNTING

The bombastic finale that ties it all together. Not that there's much here to tie together. It still manages to be pretty bombastic though.

EXITUDE

Like the "enterlude," but more melancholy.

BONUS TRACKS: What's the point of having bonus tracks on an album if they add absolutely no value to the album. They could've just as easily dipped my (admittedly free) copy in chode sweat. Nullus.

COMMENTS: I like what they're going for here, but the songwriting just isn't there. Even the singles, which I lurve, are pretty spotty. A lot of the rest of it's downright shitty. The Springsteen influence doesn't seem to extend very far beyond lyrical references to small town Americana. Otherwise, this is the first album, but a lot less catchy.

BEST TRACKS: "When You Were Young" "Bones" "This River Is Wild"