Hot Fuss

Artist:
The Killers

Label:
Island

Hot and heavy

With the release of their debut album Hot Fuss, The Killers have struck out from their "culturally underperforming" base of Las Vegas into a world of 80s synth-rock that is happy to show off its influences. In the last few months, they have leapt from relative obscurity to a number one album placing on many charts.

Their debut has been hailed on both sides of the Atlantic, gaining The Killers features in the New York Post, Rolling Stone, and a cover story in NME magazine. The reason for such success is their dynamic genre-busting combination of indie-rock tunes that, according to lead singer Brandon Flowers, allows people to "dance instead of elbow each other".

The collection of songs in Hot Fuss is like an anthology; most tracks on the album have enough momentum to be singles in their own right. While 'Somebody Told Me' was the first to be launched in Australia, tracks such as the furiously jealous 'Mr Brightside', or the opener 'Jenny Was a Friend of Mine' show huge potential for the airwaves.

"They have created a distinctly contemporary style that is a fusion of The Smiths, Bowie, The Cure, and a plethora of other 80s artists"

Changing continually from one track to the next, Hot Fuss incorporates a gospel choir in 'All These Things That I've Done' that chants the addictive maxim "I've got soul, but I'm not a soldier". It then morphs into a self-styled infusion of New Order synth-rock in the tune 'On Top'.

The Killers have been moulded by their influences; some of these are stark and obvious, but generally merge successfully. They have created a distinctly contemporary style that is a fusion of The Smiths, Bowie, The Cure, and a plethora of other 80s artists. In Rolling Stone, Brandon Flowers described the band as "living in a modern-day Ziggy Stardust song". This resonates with the style of the album, and it will partly depend on one's individual judgement as to whether Hot Fuss is overly derivative or "head-mashingly brilliant" (NME).

Zachary Whitely

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