Killers do their best to kill buzz

By Patrick Daugherty

Published Oct. 10, 2006

The Killers' second album, Sam's Town, has been the subject of gossip and rumors for months. It has been said that the boys with the eyeliner and bright white suits have been planning to go all-Americana on our asses.

Is it true? Although it is usually clear that you are listening to the same Las Vegas showboats, the pre-album rumors prove to be resoundingly true.

The most heavily hyped influence (by The Killers themselves), Bruce Springsteen, is very real. The Boss haunts nearly every song.

U2 and Coldplay's presence can also be heavily felt in the guitars.

These new influences are odd for sure, but they are made all the odder by the fact that people seem to enjoy the dance-hall geeks of Hot Fuss. The boys appear to be trying to fix what isn't broken.

Many of the things that make The Killers The Killers are still here, but the band, already serious to a fault, have felt the need to up the seriousness tenfold.

So though The Killers are taking steps they believe will give them greater staying power, they don't realize that their desire to become tough and serious might be what makes them fade away before their time. Where sincerity and clever songwriting makes bands timeless no matter what their sound is, the posing and preening here threaten to make the band more disposable and forgettable than its previous sound ever would have.

The album is riddled with absurd lyrical clichés. We hear things like, "My brother, he was born on the Fourth of July," and "Watch the clouds fall from the sky." No song passes by without us hearing about some back road or the years flying by.

The Killers are also angrier than before. Singer Brandon Flowers bellows lines like "I am sick of all my judges/so scared to let me shine," and "I never had a lover/I never had soul."

Someone has made The Killers mad, and like a little brother trying to prove he's tough to the older kids, they seem to be begging for approval from the bands that inspired them and the magazines that made fun of them.

Despite all of its bizarre musical mixtures and lame lyrics, Sam's Town still manages to be a fairly enjoyable listen.

Songs like "Read My Mind," and "My List," are dismal, but other cuts like "Bones" and "Why Do I Keep Counting?" succeed in spite of their bombast.

Especially "Bones." Despite some embarrassingly Edge-esque guitar and not so ear-pleasing harmonizing, it is one of the album's best songs because of its soaring chorus, charming horns and signature Killers synths.

The heavily Springsteen influenced bookends "Enterlude" and the unfortunately titled "Exitlude" fare even better. Despite downright hysterical lyrics referencing "bonfires of trust," and "flash floods of pain," they exude the goofy wink-wink charm of past Killers' classic "All These Things That I've Done," and remind us that even though the band might have some ill-advised ambitions, it can also write good pop songs.

The Killers have come tantalizingly close to an all-out sophomore disaster here, but they display just enough conviction and song-writing smarts to avoid the annals of all-time sophomore slumps. Let's just hope next time the four can start singing about boyfriends who look like girlfriends again and leave the eagles and rivers to the man so good at it he's called The Boss.

Artist: The Killers
Album: Sam's Town
Genre: Pop rock
Record Label: Island
Release Date: Oct. 3
Most Listenworthy Track: 'Exitlude'
Reviewer's Rating: 2.5 out of 5Ms