09.

The Killers
Sam’s Town

I loved The Killers’ debut, Hot Fuss, far more than I was expecting to. They are (and remain, essentially) a pop-indie band of a type I can happily enjoy, but never get too excited about. In spite of the quality of Hot Fuss, I wasn’t really expecting that much from its follow up. More of the same but slightly poorer, was my expectation. I was so wrong. Sam’s Town takes the blueprint of Hot Fuss and shifts it to another level entirely. Every track demonstrates a complete understanding of how to make a pop song appealing, whilst retaining substance and, importantly, passion. ‘When You Were Young’ blew me away the first time I heard it, and it remains fantastic, but there are other - more valuable - treasures here. ‘Uncle Jonny’ has a great guitar riff, and ‘Bling (Confessions of a King)’ sounds like it is ready made for their live shows. However, the masterful ‘Bones’ is the best track on the album, and is everything one could want in a single (what a video!!!). I sing it to myself all the time. It owns my head. The haunting ‘enterlude/exitlude’ round off a borderline pop-rock classic.