burning down the highway skyline

Let's face it, when it comes to music these days, I live up to my reputation as a bitter old man. I don't know what the big thing is about this "emo" the kids are all into these days. I'm not even a big fan of retro-rock like The Strokes or The White Stripes. So it was pretty unusual for me to get into a new-wave revival band like The Killers. I thought their debut Hot Fuss was a great retro-80s pop album, with synthesizers and poppy hooks galore.

The band's sophomore album Sam's Town sees them trading in their metrosexual, Duran Duran 80's retro-pop for Bruce Springsteen and U2 80's retro-rock/pop. Gone are the dress shirts, black eyeliner, and faux-British singing. In their place we have blue jeans, mustaches, and arena rock anthems. The Las Vegas natives aim for a much more American feel on the new album. Hot Fuss conjured up images of night clubs and busy streets; Sam's Town feels like the boys left the Vegas strip and are now cruising down the dusty highways of the surrounding desert.


The opening title track sets the tone for the album as a powerful, Americana-themed rock song that manages to stay true to the new-wave stylings of Hot Fuss at the same time. The remaining songs are bookended by "Enterlude" and "Exitlude" which really don't add or detract anything from the album other than that they're basically filler. The first radio single, "When You Were Young", is a clear homage to Springsteen. It's the type of song that seems most at home blaring out the speakers of a convertible soaring down the highway.

Despite it's absurd name, "Bling (Confessions of a King)" finds The Killers channeling U2. The song feels ripped from the same vein as Joshua Tree with vocals you can almost picture Bono doing himself and a riff that clearly was inspired by Edge. The fusion of arena rock and synth-pop continues on the energetic "For Reasons Unknown". "Read My Mind" is a strong, hook-laden pop song that just screams "future single". That shouldn't be seen as a slight, because with these hooks it's not the kind of song you mind popping into your head at random moments. "Uncle Johnny", a song about said uncle's cocaine habit, is one of the hardest rockers of the bunch. The guitar riff is excellent, which is good because it helps you ignore the mostly nonsensical lyrics.

Unfortunately Sam's Town starts to fall flat after the first half of the album. The love song "Bones" entertains by featuring brass instruments in the background, but once again the lyrics border on comically senseless (Don't you wanna come with me/Don't you wanna feel my bones on your bones?). Take a lot of time coming up with that one, Mr. Flowers? Still, the music is enough to keep the song entertaining. "My List" is a slow-burning anthem that has you picturing the singers rocking back and forth with their arms around each other's shoulders by the end of the song. The rough outdoor imagery appears again on "This River Is Wild", which is simply another poppy rock ballad. "Why Do I Keep Counting" rounds out the album before the "Exitlude", and really has nothing fresh to add to the album.

One tends to get the feeling that The Killers may be a gimmick band; it'll be interesting to see if the band makes a third transformation for their next album. But the group stays true enough to their original sound that most fans of Hot Fuss should embrace this offering. The first two-thirds of Sam's Town are strong enough that the album is a very successful pop album. That's exactly what one has to remember when listening to this album; it's okay if most of the lyrics are gibberish. The songs are fun enough and filled with such good hooks that it should entertain for awhile.