Brandon Flowers ~ Vocals and Keyboards
David Keuning ~ Guitar
Mark Stoermer ~ Bass
Ronnie Vannucci ~ Drums
The Killers took world of fashionista pop by storm in summer of '04 with the hit single "Somebody Told Me". The very stylish song found its roots from influences form such bands as the Smiths, New Order, Oasis and the Cure. The song was just enough to get recognized not only over the airways, but all in the world of the tube. The band is originally from "Sin City" Las Vegas, Nevada. Flowers left his old synth pop band, Blue Response, when he saw a classified as in a local paper placed by Keuning. Both of them being Oasis fans that got along musically quite naturally. "Mr. Brightside" was written and shortly thereafter Stoermer and Vannucci came in to place to become the Killers. Lizard King, a London-based indie label, quickly signed them and they had such a hype with "Mr. Brightside that they were booked to play the CMJ Music Marathon. Island signed a great deal shortly after CMJ and they have been a huge sucess with Hot Fuss ever since.
Jenny Was a Friend of Mine ~ The guitar riff in the beginning is a nice intro to the album. With the bass and keyboard building on that. It's nice to see the bass with a lead. Vocals are unique and lyrics are very good. The chorus vocal effect is very cool. The guitar could follow the bass a little more and the keyboards could be more in your face. The synthesized strings sound very good at the end.
9/10
Mr. Brightside ~ We all know this song from the hit single. The lead guitar is very original instead of just diminishing the chord he plays it over a bridge. Starting out with the drums on right and guitar on left was very cool. Then bass comes in and levels everything. The vocal effects on the intro were very different. The keyboards are pretty creepy, but they work well. The chorus is very good. Vocal effects throughout are very cool. Drum solo was well placed. The end of the song's lyrics were appropriate.
8.5/10
Smile Like You Mean It ~ This is definitely my favorite song on the album. The keys take the lead and the bass/guitar/drums are pretty much background compared to the keyboard vocals, but they orchestrate so well that the chorus sound very musical. Going into the second chorus would have been the climax, but then a very '70's guitar solo is played and you reconsider. Again the vocal effects are awesome. Going into the third chorus you can't help, but love the whole song. The song finishes nicely too.
10/10
Somebody Told Me ~ The trance like feel was a change up to the normal rock you hear nowadays. "Bring it back down, bring back down tonight" Simple lyrics yet are really one of the better upbeat lines that make the song so good. The chorus was very good and short enough to make room for more well word verses. The post-chorus key solo was pretty basic, but cool in its own respect. The guitar drops out in some points make for a very cool effect. The slowed lyrics are very cool.
9/10
All These Things That I've Done ~ A slower rock song. Beatles like vocals. The bass speeds up the tempo a bit and makes way for guitar and bass. The lyric's and styling sound like a mix of late blues and new pop. The left bias palm muting sounded awesome with the harmonized voices and the right entering with short chord riffs. The song ends nicely
8/10
Andy, You're a Star ~ Another very cool intro into another very cool song. The keys and drum echo adds to the guitar progression. Hints of acoustic strumming makes for a very good layer in the song. When he sings "Andy, You're a Star" the height of the song is reached the second time around. "In nobody’s eyes, but mine" makes you wonder the history of the character.
8.5/10
On Top ~ Keys on the entrance are accented nicely by tambourine that mysteriously faded out. The vocals on this song we're kind of a let down. The chorus is very cool, but the theme of the song is sort of cliché. Metaphors are kind of odd and don't fall into one another very well. Guitar solo was not as impressive as it could have been. When the whole song drops off and comes back it feels like it lost its whole energy. You just don't fall off after a guitar solo.
7.5/10
Change Your Mind ~ The whole song is rather plain and the vocals are nothing to rave about. After further review of the lyrics they are really stupid and very cliché.
6/10
Believe Me Natalie ~ Drums in the intro were very good. The bass and guitar come in on what seems like their set que. The verses are pretty lame, but when the mood brightens the song becomes slightly better. The rest of the song is rather boring even with the addition of a horn section.
7/10
Midnight Show ~ Another cool sounding intro with weird effects. The guitar really helps the song out more than most of the other songs. This song is basically showcase their skill as perverts and having sex on a blanket in the back of a car, which he doesn’t want any one to know about. Some heavy panting might have made the guitar solo a little cooler because it was pretty lame.(lol) The outro was not good seeing as what the song was about.
7/10
Everything Will Be Alright ~ The drums on this song are very original when mixed wit the other instruments. The vocal effect made me though I was smoking shrooms, they are very cool. This is sort of the goodbye song of the album. I don't see why debut artists always seem to want to put a goodbye song on the end of the first full length.
8/10
In conclusion, this album is a very good first release from the Killers. The vocals were for the most part very good. The keyboard had trance and phycodelia inspired riffs. The guitar and bass combo had many original sections. I would have liked to hear more of a lead from Mark Stoermer. Overall the album wasn't consistent, but on the whole it was excellent.
