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CD Review: The Killers, "Hot Fuss" (Island)
The Vegas-bred band The Killers , prior to the debut of their first album, Hot Fuss, had been compared to Duran Duran, The Cure, The Smiths, "Ziggy"-era Bowie, T-Rex, Psychedelic Furs, Echo & the Bunnymen and the group whose music video inspired their name, New Order.
The band itself has cited as influences everyone from The Cars to Oasis, Smashing Pumpkins to Talking Heads, The Beatles to their hometown hero, Elvis. Suffice it to say, if you liked any music--especially British bands--in the early '80s, you'll find something to love in The Killers.
If all of this musical name-dropping seems impossible, listen to the first single, "Somebody Told Me." Here, with Brandon Flowers' vocals evoking most closely the sound of The Strokes' Julian Casablancas, you'll hear behind him hints of Pulp, New Order, and, in its disco-y buildup and "Girls & Boys"-like sentiment ("Somebody told me/You had a boyfriend/That looked like a girlfriend/That I had in February of last year"), Blur.
"All These Things I've Done," nods to the Gallagher brothers, but then inexplicably brings in a gospel choir. Other songs, notably "Mr. Brightside," owe their choruses to--dare I say it--Blondie.
Does this mean that there's nothing to The Killers that's their own? No. In their best songs, primarily the first half of the album, bringing all of this together makes the music unusually fresh. And, really, if we're going to rehash the "24-Hour Party People" era yet again, why not do it through a bunch of talented kids from Sin City who are fully prepared to revel in the music of their (many, many) heroes?
