Sam's Town

Performer: The Killers (US)
Engineer: Flood; Alan Moulder; Max Dingel; Mark Gray
Producer: Flood; Alan Moulder; Flood; Alan Moulder
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Personnel: Adrina Hanson, Maryam Haddad, Tristan Moyer (strings); Tommy Marth (saxophone); Corlene Byrd, Louis XIV (background vocals). Additional personnel: Neeraj Khajanchi (trombone); Corlene Byrd, Tommy Marth, Adrina Hanson, Maryam Haddad, Tristan Moyer, Louis XIV. Audio Mixers: Flood; Alan Moulder; Andy Savours. Recording information: Criterion Studios, London, England; Studio At The Palms, Las Vegas, NV. Photographer: Anton Corbijn. On the 2006 follow-up to their wildly successful debut, HOT FUSS, the Killers' continue their torrid affair with1980s New Wave, but manage to incorporate the sounds of that era, particularly heavy use of synthesizers, more seamlessly into the mix. This is due, at least in part, to the presence of veteran producers Flood and Alan Moulder (Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails, U2), who help to make the tracks on SAM'S TOWN both brighter and edgier than earlier Killers tunes. While the Las Vegas-based act's Britpop-influenced songs are still marked by Brandon Flower's emotive vocals and bold synth lines, Dave Keuning's guitar riffs are amped up on much of the record, as exemplified by the urgent single "When We Were Young," which easily stands as one of the quartet's finest tunes. Other highlights of this brooding album are the dramatic "Bones" and the yearning title track, songs that prove that the Killers may have unforeseen substance lurking under their carefully rendered style.

Spin (p.93) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "Everything is constructed to epic dimensions, almost according to physical laws of acceleration and propulsion....There's no denying the brute efficiency of the hooks." Q (p.126) - Ranked #5 in Q Magazine's "100 Greatest Albums of 2006" -- "[A] valentine to the mythic Americana of prime Springsteen." Mojo (Publisher) (p.104) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[They] resume their successful formula -- loud guitars, '80s pop hooks, glitterdust synths -- but these 12 songs come with extra muscle and star-spangled lyricism..."

Though a batch of 1980s-New Wave-inspired bands started making noise in the early 2000s, it wasn't until the Killers' 2004 debut album HOT FUSS (and its crossover hits "Somebody Told Me" and "Mr. Brightside") that the style really broke through to the mainstream. Heavily indebted to the likes of the Smiths, Psychedelic Furs, et al, the Las Vegas, NV quartet brought a contemporary sense of urgency to their retro-loving dance-rock sound and taught a new generation of kids that it doesn't have to be disco to be dance music. For follow-up SAM'S TOWN, the group obviously feasted on a gorge of Bruce Springsteen style rock, and while the sound boasted a slightly harder edge, the group retained the critics' and fans' adoration.

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