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Post by beaston105 on Sept 26, 2006 21:45:28 GMT -5
And boooooooourns Billy!!! Ahh! I really want to, especially given all this positive reaction, but I don't want to spoil it!
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I Got Soul.
Mr. Brightside
All this work keeping people from having sex. Now I know how the catholic church feels. ZING!
Posts: 10,836
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Post by I Got Soul. on Sept 29, 2006 13:41:43 GMT -5
2 huge outlets release their reviews. Both overwhelmingly positive.
NME
NME rating: 8/10
Eyeliner and Dior make way for leather and facial hair as Brandon and his gang prepare to take over the world
Before we go any further we need to set the record straight. Three and a bit years ago, at the very start of The Killers' UK assault, this writer reviewed one of their live shows and suggested that, bar the odd freak storm of melodic synth genius, they were essentially a retro, electro-pop pastiche writing po-faced tunes called things like 'Glamorous Indie Rock & Roll' without anything like enough knowingness. We remember this mainly because, for at least the next 12 months, Brandon Flowers would bring it up at every available opportunity - as though 200 words on page 53 of his favourite music magazine somehow kept him awake at night more than his 4million debut album sales, three Top 10 tunes, one festival anthem and the 1,500 crappy soundalike clones he and his band spawned the day they discovered the '80s. What we rather cruelly neglected to tell him though (until now) was that, a week later, we'd given 'Hot Fuss' another spin and, along with the rest of the world, realised that it was actually amazing. Still prancing, pompous and so shamelessly studied in places - but magnificently, ridiculously so. And this is why all that talk earlier this summer of The Killers having razed their electro-fey history for a more macho, Americana-steeped second album came as such dismal news.
So, while we're here, we might as well set another record straight. Much has been made of Bruce Springsteen's omnipotent presence on The Killers' new sound. Unsurprisingly (did you hear the first album?), it's not strictly true. OK, the pink blazers may have been ritualistically burnt in favour of five o'clock shadows and oil-stained denim, but The Boss' influences are - save a couple of piano-belted rock'n'roll numbers near the end - fairly cosmetic. Get past the cover image of a depressingly budget beauty pageant scene (a parody of the American Dream learnt straight from the school of Springsteen's 'Born In The USA') and the only other place you're going to get grizzly man-rock is in Brandon's lyrics. Because 'Sam's Town' (named after a casino in their seedy home city of Las Vegas) is clearly the same band of Anglo-maniacs who brought metrosexuality mainstream with 'Hot Fuss'. They've just scrubbed off their make-up, beefed up the vocals and found the turbo-charge button on their tune-making machine. If there's one obvious new noise on this record, it's actually that of U2's ramped-up, stadium synth-rock. Listen to immense lead-off single 'When You Were Young' or righteous and anthemic album highlight 'Read My Mind', and it's little surprise to learn that Alan Moulder and Flood (two of U2's regular make-it-go-massive production team) are behind the spaceship controls again here. And when Brandon's not imbibing Bono's spirit, it's Bowie, Queen and even Muse being soundchecked: 'Why Do I Keep Counting' is an 'All These Things That I've Done'-style epic that starts all kaleidoscopic and 'Space Oddity', before building into this album's 'Heroes'; saucy mini-opera 'Bones' ("don't you want to come with me?/Don't you want to feel my bones on your bones?/It's only natural") borrows its histrionic four-part harmony breakdown straight from 'Bohemian Rhapsody'; and with galloping drums and crazy prog build-ups, 'Bling (Confession Of A King)' is basically 'Knights Of Cydonia' minus Matt Bellamy's squawking. Elsewhere 'For Reasons Unknown' and 'Uncle Jonny' are the classic 'Mr Brightside' and 'Smile Like You Mean It' disco-noir sound, with Brandon as a newly tutored vocal virtuoso up front.
Even the words are worth checking out this time round. Gone are the gender-bending boyfriends, fashionista warblings and ill-considered tributes to murdered teenagers. Now Brandon's hanging out in dead-end streets, heading for wild desert landscapes and (here's where the Springsteen fixation finally becomes apparent) "burning down the highway skyline". Think that sounds heavy? It's also an album preoccupied with judgement - both from the back-sniping Las Vegas peers The Killers left spluttering in the Nevada dust on their fast-track to fame and free designer trainers (see opener 'Sam's Town'), and The Big Man himself. Jesus, the Devil and a host of angels all pop up along the 12-track ride to wrestle with Brandon's married, morally upstanding Mormon soul ("It's hard trying to keep on the right side in this land of free rides" - 'Bling...'). Meanwhile, 'Why Do I Keep Counting?' uses the singer's fear of flying as a smokescreen for a much deeper musing on mortality.
All this, however, isn't to say that The Killers have gone all (God forbid) serious on us. The tunes may be huger, the influences cleverer, the lyrics more adventurous and the band more self-assured, but their primary concern is still being the biggest indie-pop stars on the planet. For all their smart new ways, The Killers are still as flashy, unintentionally funny, and flagrantly affected as ever - and this time we wouldn't even pretend to have it any other way.
- - - - - - - -
Billboard
Sometimes more is better—and that's certainly the case with "Sam's Town," a lollapalooza of cinematic soundscapes that dashes any fears, or dare we say expectations, of a sophomore slump. The Las Vegas quartet still proudly wears its British New Wave influences on its sleeve. But they're presented in a manner that's stylistically undated and given their own character by Brandon Flowers' keening vocals and the interplay between his keyboards and Dave Keuning's versatile guitar work. Produced by Flood and Alan Moulder, "Sam's Town" is a sophisticated sonic metropolis whose best songs—the title track, "Bling (Confession of a King)," "Uncle Jonny," "Bones" and the single "When You Were Young"—are powerful modern rock anthems that may someday yield their particular influences on younger bands.—Gary Graff
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Doctor Blind
Danny's #1 : Hooray For Earth "No Love" [1 week at #1]
Posts: 3,530
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Post by Doctor Blind on Sept 29, 2006 13:46:23 GMT -5
Good 'ole NME. Can't wait to have this blasting out of the stereo on Monday. ;D I've been re-listening to "Hot Fuss" a lot lately and remembering how great it is, brings back lots of good memories too- I didn't buy it until Dec. '04 about six months after it was originally released in the U.K.!
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Sept 29, 2006 20:49:29 GMT -5
Ahhhhh!!!! This is soooo one of the albums of the year!! I am still in my first listen and I have adored ALL tracks so far. Definitely a wonderful album.
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Post by musicjunkie on Oct 2, 2006 18:39:48 GMT -5
I wasn't feeling the album so much at first but after a second time listening, I'm really getting into it.
I'll definitely buy it now.
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Post by beaston105 on Oct 2, 2006 19:43:17 GMT -5
I'll be picking this up tomorrow! ;D The NY Times gave it a bad review.
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Post by M! on Oct 2, 2006 20:33:30 GMT -5
I love this album. It's definitely departure from the dance-rock vibe they were going for on Hot Fuss, but they more than make up for with bigger and bolder soundscapes on Sam's Town. The synth flourishes are still there, but are no longer as evident. This album is more rocking than Hot Fuss. You do actually hear lots of influence, particularly from the likes of Bruce Springsteen and U2! One of my favourites, "Bling (Confessions Of A King)", sounds like it could fit alongside any of the tracks on The Joshua Tree. I can honestly say that this album gets better with each listen. I think it might be better than Hot Fuss, which was already amazing (thanks to the perfect tracks 1-to-5-TKO punch). And it's difficult to guess what single choices they'll go with, since there are a lot more single choices this time around. I hope the single choices go: 1. When You Were Young 2. Bones 3. Read My Mind 4. Sam's Town 5. Bling (Confessions Of A King)/For Reasons Unknown/Uncle Johnny (ack!!!!! can't pick! ) The only tracks at the moment that I'm still trying to get into are "My List" and "The River Is Wild".
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I Got Soul.
Mr. Brightside
All this work keeping people from having sex. Now I know how the catholic church feels. ZING!
Posts: 10,836
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Post by I Got Soul. on Oct 2, 2006 21:46:57 GMT -5
Your review is so incredibly accurate. I'll post mine tomorrow
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Doctor Blind
Danny's #1 : Hooray For Earth "No Love" [1 week at #1]
Posts: 3,530
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Post by Doctor Blind on Oct 3, 2006 5:42:11 GMT -5
This has done 100K+ already on just 1 day's sales in the U.K.
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I Got Soul.
Mr. Brightside
All this work keeping people from having sex. Now I know how the catholic church feels. ZING!
Posts: 10,836
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Post by I Got Soul. on Oct 3, 2006 10:31:49 GMT -5
^ Shut. the. f---. up.
It's all so glorious.
I just picked my official copy up, as Canadian HMV outlets are selling the cd for a ridiculously sexy price of $9.99.
There was quite a few people in line buying it, even some with multiple copies. Evanescence also had a few buyers.
I also got a copy of the new Jet!
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Post by M! on Oct 3, 2006 16:33:36 GMT -5
It's ashame this is getting a lot of mixed reviews -- either they're really good or really bad.
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Post by musicjunkie on Oct 3, 2006 16:35:10 GMT -5
This has done 100K+ already on just 1 day's sales in the U.K. Wow.
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I Got Soul.
Mr. Brightside
All this work keeping people from having sex. Now I know how the catholic church feels. ZING!
Posts: 10,836
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Post by I Got Soul. on Oct 3, 2006 17:40:46 GMT -5
It's ashame this is getting a lot of mixed reviews -- either they're really good or really bad. Out of the MAJOR outlets, only Rolling Stone was negative. Keeping track of newspaper syndications too is just too much. Positive internationally, and generally poisitive domestically, plus solid ticket sales for the tour = good shape.
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Post by jt40 on Oct 3, 2006 19:13:08 GMT -5
Bry, I think "Bones" is next.
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Post by M! on Oct 3, 2006 19:36:36 GMT -5
Bry, I think "Bones" is next. It is.
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