The Killers--Sam's Town

After a hugely successful debut album, The Killers have gained artistic license for their follow-up, Sam’s Town. With a large fan base going out on October 3rd to buy their album simply because its The Killers, the Las Vegas outfit have room to tweak and experiment with their sound, which is just what they do in Sam’s Town. Compared to their Hot Fuss debut, the album is slower and less pop-oriented. The big hit on the album looks to be "When You Were Young," that takes a U2 guitar line with Brandon Flowers’ dramatic vocals to craft a danceable and well-rounded single. Yet when compared to the big hits of the previous album, "When You Were Young" is toned down and slower, especially when put up against "Somebody Told Me." "For Reasons Unknown" is another pop piece along the same lines as "When You Were Young," featuring more keyboards but again a slower rhythm. Found here is The Killers emotional yet always catchy lyrics, "But my heart it don’t beat / It don’t beat the way it used to / And my eyes / They don’t recognize you no more." Other songs like "Why Do I Keep Counting" resemble ‘80s hair-ballads, and the album name-sake "Sam’s Town" puts The Killer’s classic keyboard with more U2 guitar licks for an explosive and climactic experience, even with the awkward ending. As a whole, Sam’s Town is a toned down version of Hot Fuss. The vocal experience is still exhilarating, but the quality of their big pieces leaves something to be desired. It is by no means a bad album, and shows The Killer’s experimenting with slower rhythms and moving away from their dance beats. Yet when compared with their debut, Sam’s Town is clearly The Killer’s lesser work.

(Published at ComfortComes.com)