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 | The KillersSam's Town2006 Island 
 Review by: Archangel See others by this writer The Killers (link) Only registered users can post comments 
 
Published on October 20th 2006
Has it really been two years since Hot Fuss came out? The Killers enjoyed success in the form of their three big singles: "Somebody Told Me," "Mr. Brightside," and "All These Things That I've Done." Interest seemed to fade in the band though, as is often the case, so Sam's Town hasn't made quite the splash the band anticipated (Flowers: "This album is one of the best albums in the past 20 years. There's nothing that touches this album").
This town was meant for passing through, boy, it ain't nothing new. Now go and show 'em that the world stayed round. [...] Or should I just get along with myself? I never did get along with everybody else. I've been trying hard to do what's right. [...] Well, this river is wild."Enterlude," a 49-second introduction to the album, follows "Sam's Town" and breaks the fourth wall as Flowers and a piano welcome the listener, and informs him that "It's good to have you with us, even if it's just for the day." Appropriately, Sam's Town is closed with "Exitlude" ("we hope you enjoyed your stay"). The band has certainly expanded their sound on their new full-length -- for the most adventurous example, see "Bones." The song opens with a grandiose choir and features blazing horns. Flowers' vocals are dubbed over a monotone reading of the lyrics in "For Reasons Unknown," and I'm fairly certain that's a glockenspiel in "Why Do I Keep Counting?." And while there is still plenty of synthesizer to maintain an atmosphere or to carry the melody (most notably in current single, "When You Were Young"), Sam's Town features some noteworthy piano. Despite this willingness to experiment, the band is still rooted in the revival of popular new-wave of the 1980s. Fortunately, all of the aspects of `80s hits I hate aren't present here; in place of any drum machine, the production on the percussion is clear and well-suited to the songs. Bass lines are interesting and attention-catching (see: "Uncle Jonny," "This River Is Wild"). Finally, Flowers' singing is clear and strong. Even the band's most dedicated opponents have to acknowledge the talent of the vocals here. There are, of course, minor faults. "Enterlude" and "Exitlude" are unnecessary and serve as a distraction. Adding a theatrical element has worked for other bands, but here the album's bookends interrupt the confessional tone of many of the songs. There are moments when the background vocals seem pointless and annoying. And while Hot Fuss saw comically awful lyrics in "Somebody Told Me," on Sam's Town they are found not, surprisingly, in "Bling (Confessions of a King)," but in "Uncle Jonny:" "When everybody else refrained." If you didn't like Hot Fuss, you're going to hate this. If, however, you enjoyed the Killers' first release, I'm willing to bet that you'll like Sam's Town. I've taken off a point for the missteps listed above, and another point for Flowers' absolutely ridiculous ego concerning the album. STREAM When You Were Young People who liked this also liked:           Please login or register to post comments. What are the benefits of having a Punknews.org account?
the cd has really grown on me Like I said at the beginning of this post last Friday, Cardinals in five. I should have put money down. P.S. Across Five Aprils latest full length Collapse is pretty kick ass, but nowhere near as good as Living in the Moment. They got a new vocalist who can't sing as well and there's more shouting, but it's a fun listen, kind of generic. The problem I see is that there are decent groups out there which haven't been getting a review and SHOULD have gotten one. I'm primarily thinking of A5A (across five aprils), Remembering Never, These Arms Are Snakes (last album came out a week ago, though), My Dying Bride's newest album isn't even mentionned anywhere out here, and the list goes on and on. I don't know what to think of this band. Brandon Flowers is kind've an idiot, but I really like their singles, and a few of their other songs. First band in a while where I've liked what they had on the radio. Most of their other songs kinda suck. "You're an idiot. Any press doesn't equal success, but it ALWAYS equals more recognition. Even if Gigli bombed at the box office, it earned more many than it would have it there hadn't been any press at all." Yes, we could all go out and write our own reviews, but that wouldn't stop this review from being posted. The issue isn't that this is a bad review, but that it doesn't belong on this site. Complaining about is the best way to show that we consider punknews better than this crap, and that we don't want it here. not a cards or tigers fan, but they won't win again in this series. "Any press is good press right? You guys are helping them sell albums this whole time." I love this album, these guys rock and are way more punk than me. Instead of complaining about what reviews are being posted, why don't you write and submit your own? What makes this site so great is that it's a community effort, users can submit their own reviews and news articles. If you disagree with a review then you can make a comment or write another one. To my knowledge, all the editors on this site have jobs and lives and don't have the time to review every release that comes out. If you really want to see something reviewed, do it yourself. Complaining about this site seems like the least constructive thing you could do. Yet, here I am, complaining about people complaining. Oh well. "Any press is good press right? You guys are helping them sell albums this whole time." ha i fucked up the rating an okay record. seriously, by reviewing this, we are only encouraging it. to me, punk is the antithesis of shit like this. you don;t have to consensus wether or not to post shit like the fucking killers dumbass You guys are all wicked douchebags. It's a fucking music review on a music website. And saying that his review should reflect other people's reviews is the stupdiest thing that I have ever heard. What would be the point in reviews if there's supposed to be some sort of consensus? also there are 44 instances of quotation marks in this review The real question we must ask ourselves is why didn't my drunken Squirrel Bait review ever get posted. hahaha... you guys are funny. I enjoyed reading just how many panties can get in a twist over The Killers. Any press is good press right? You guys are helping them sell albums this whole time. as it is certainly not the most important album to be released in the punk world this week. "wrong. I got my letter published in the one with the Underoath cover about a year ago calling out AP for not including social D-live at the roxy in the '10 essential live albums' feature and they printed it." 1. Music shouldn't be divided into "serious," and "fun." Sure, maybe this music is fun, but Jawbreaker is fun, too. The Lawrence Arms are fun too. None More Black is fun. But all those bands take their music seriously. Honestly good music is both serious and fun. wait, this is a music site? dude i go to this site for punk music because its PUNKnews duh and same with absolutePUNK wtf this is lame!!!! ...Was that a disturbingly serious and angry superdude? 1. I like the Killers. I don't think there is a problem with liking any band (sans Nickleback) as long as you understand the context they are in. I don't think The Killers are ground-breaking, or musical geniuses or a "great band." I don't deny Brandon Flowers is probably a pompous ass. I simply am entertained when I listen to them. People need to get over the musical elitism. Listen to different music for different reasons, and when you simply don't like a band, recognize that you simply don't like them. otherwise nice review though "Please let's keep this shit off of this website. It's not close-mindedness when you've been around awhile. The review is weak and has a shows a very superficial understanding of music and art (paraphrase= "It's like 80s but not cheesy!"). Like it or not, this site is for the readers not the writers. AP writes for its demographic. Now the demographic for this site is speaking out against what it doesn't want. You cannot call it close-mindedness. 99% of the people here who are into the underground are not just into it to be cool, it's actually their passion." gay could someone review the new weird al disc? Honestly, where the fuck is the new Lillingtons review?! love this record. not perfect by any means but who else is bad astronaut? no one! "I love how Pelle Almqvist makes claims that his band is the best band ever, and people think its cute, whereas when Brendan Flowers does it, he's a blowhard." how about 31 years old and still a punker and i started when i was 11 besides growing up listenening to black sabbath, beatles, ect, prior to. I'm totally ABOVE buying Alternative Press, lol. Punx, or something. "I love how Pelle Almqvist makes claims that his band is the best band ever, and people think its cute, whereas when Brendan Flowers does it, he's a blowhard." "I love how Pelle Almqvist makes claims that his band is the best band ever, and people think its cute, whereas when Brendan Flowers does it, he's a blowhard." 24 years old and still a punker "oh, and that 'class of 96' article, about those seminal 96 records like f2f-s/t , mxpx-life in general, goldfinger-s/t was fucking awesome. please do that for every year from 96 to present." "OMG THAT WAS THE BEST ARTICLE EVER THANKS SO MUCH!" i have more respect for rolling stone, spin, and blender who at least have the balls to publish people calling them out in each issue." oh, and that 'class of 96' article, about those seminal 96 records like f2f-s/t , mxpx-life in general, goldfinger-s/t was fucking awesome. please do that for every year from 96 to present. awesome, glad its going back to the 10 scale, cuz a 3/5..what is that? average? like a 5/10...or is it solid like a 7/10? good call. I love how Pelle Almqvist makes claims that his band is the best band ever, and people think its cute, whereas when Brendan Flowers does it, he's a blowhard. one of the reasons alt press has such positive vibes is because they are THE ONLY MAGAZINE I HAVE EVER READ that fills their letters section with a bunch of kids saying "OMG THAT WAS THE BEST ARTICLE EVER THANKS SO MUCH!" i have more respect for rolling stone, spin, and blender who at least have the balls to publish people calling them out in each issue. like i said and i will say it again punknews.org will never be as reliable sorce that AP is! All everyone does on punknews.org is bitch, bitch, bitch! AND ITS REALLY FUCKING ANNOYING! thats why its nice to read AP because they don't bash everything! Has anyone reviewed the lillingtons CD? danperrone, Flowers has gone on record saying that this album is an homage, and attempted recreation of the Springsteen thang. Strike Anywhere even call themselves a punk band retard. They're not one of the million that are afraid of the word these days, like when actors whine about being typecast. It's like shut up, you're punk, get over yourself. im interested in what you (gladimnotemo) define as a punk band And feeding, I'd be completely down for starting some sort of net zine, but it would have to have a better name than "hardcorenews." There's no point in getting righteous about this shit. It's so obviously irrelevant that giving it hatred is like putting out cookies for santa... My advice to anyone with content qualms (and fuck, I was once one of you) would be to a) review what you want reviewed, and b) find a zine (web or print) that covers what your idea of music is. There is one out there, trust me. You're really calling strike anywhere a punk band? I downloaded this cd, and it seems like a 6 out of 10. Some decent songs and a lot I just skipped over. oh yea, score is for Archangel. this review has caused quite a stir at the org now hasnt it? "Punk" is dead. Who the fuck cares? So....since this is lthe only good review of this anywhere, do you think they will pull some positive stuff out of it to put on a sticker on the front? Punknews.org's webmaster reviewed the last one and we've been covering news surrounding this album for quite a while now. Why is this now coming as a huge shock to everyone? Get pissed!!, everyone! if one more person compares this to springsteen i am going to go on a massive killing spree "Punk" is dead. Who the fuck cares? I can see why they would continue posting reviews like this -- look at how many posts they get. And metal should never be reviewed at punknews.org. The killers should be on this site over metal I think this site is amazing, the only problem is the damn reviews lately. The ratio of punk/hardcore/poppunk/powerpo to emo/indie/phychrock/screamo/MTVmusic is like 50/50. That just isn't how it should be at punknews.org for $1 an issue, AP is definately worth the $1 a month even if i just end up writing "i'm gay" in bubbles over most of the band's mouths ...Like this site has done. See...excluding music can be fun. Look at absolutepunk -- they put reviews of rap and pop on there, and no punk. It's a slippery slope people. With punk, you can either drift totally to metal, like Boston 1986, or into indie rock, like DC 1985. "Sure i'm all for nonpunk bands being reviewed here" I'd join hardcorenews, more because i want to know more about real punk bands, than about the killers...who suck. The usual response to a positive review of a non-punk band on this site is "it's not punk! why review it?" Then the other person is like "just because it's not punk doesnt mean its bad, open your mind". good idea feeeding5000... OR they could just cut crap like this instead. Noooooo! Shitttttty! punk? indie? formerly punk? anything? no? People, I'm absolutely serious about starting hardcorenews.org. I just need people (especially ones who know anything about either punk or web design/computers) to work with me. We could have a loose affiliation w/punknews -- we could publish the Tragedy reviews and Kegcharge tour schedule, and you could cover the pop-punk, emo, and "'Orgcore". Way to dodge the comment made about your apparent hypocrisy Scott. Score is for you and your magazine. so are we going to start reviewing Godsmack on here? how about Three Doors Down? hell, 50 cent is probably coming out with a new album one of these days, might as well review his shit too. Pretty much everyone here has a warped definition of what mainstream is. AP is a pretty much a rag. The bands they choose to put on the cover are of the pretty shallow, bottom feeder variety. And as someone else said earlier, don't espouse your magazine as being some sort of "Alternative Press" when you sell that same mainstream pap everyone else does. It's pretty disgusting. This album is shit. Almost as bad as the music video, which, if any of you have seen, is a shitty, shitty piece of shit. i'ld do er AP is a commercial entity. Its exists to make money for its employees and its advertisers. Thus, they're going to put Head Automatica on the cover and not the Street Dogs. Reading about Cursive or getting on oral history on Gorilla Biscuits is nice (yes, I bought the September issue for that reason), but never forget that it is a magazine, and its whole purpose is to sell you something. I didn't know punknews' target audience was 14 year old girls. Hot Fuss was half really really catchy and half pretty boring. This is half pretty boring and half even worse. I think the word punk is getting stretched a bit too far. This album review just plain doesn not belong here. Certainly not at an 8. "Thursday's new album a 5/5?" Comparing Punknews to AP is like comparing apples to orangutans. Punknews is a fan site, by and for the kids. The whole reason (in my opinion) for it being here is to read about bands you like and find out about new bands. I'm not sure how the Killers fit into either category. Scott makes a good point. So is Scott's dumb ass going to respond? This album cover suggest sex with goats and that offends me. Frotos Town would whoop Sam's Town's ass. The half star is for this horrible, horrible album. that was cool The Killers are a bigger scourge of modern "alternative" music than any emo band out there. They're utterly repulsive, and not just because Brandon Flowers is a pompous, arrogant cunt, but because they embody the very definition of celebrating... not even mediocrity. They embody celebrating music for profit's sake, for getting laid, for looking cool, style over substance and cynical manipulation of the market. I'd like to add that I enjoy alternative press, I think overall its a great magazine, theres always a few articles in it that are well written, like the Rise Against article this month, or the oral history of HWM. The oral history of Saves the Day was great, I've read interviews with Joey Cape and Brenden Kelly in there, recent features have covered less than jake, the bouncing souls etc. I skip over the fluff bands, as long as they cover enough bands I dig, I'll keep my subscription (which I've had for 6 years now) i'm assuming most altpress writiers know they are tools... i was in the bathroom at a paint it black show in cleveland and heard one gay ask another "are you still writing for alternative press" and he responded, sounding embarassed, "yeah... it sucks, but at least it's a job." i cant believe this site has posted this review. whats goin on? Score's for kids in Germany that misinterpret their lyrics. they're featuring some band that no young teenage kid has been exposed to like Lifetime. Posted by sirens on 2006-10-20 10:15:40 i hope this gets posted on their message boards so a bunch of 13 year olds will get linked to the site and start calling the killers "punk." See, I'll write long, tangential reviews about relatively obscure crust albums, and they won't get posted. Then, when someone writes a review that guarantees the site will get hits (and ad revenue) it's put up in the first spot. Hmmm.... if you are going to call it "alternative press" though, maybe you SHOULDN'T put pop bands on the covers, write about strictly mainstream tv shows and movies, etc. would it be okay for a magazine called "hip hop montly" to put taylor hicks on the cover because it will sell to young stupid kids? 2-3 good singles covering up a very mediocre album...there is nothing happening here at least listen to old new order or joy division. the killers....come on. what a shit band. While yes, this band is a joke, and Scott's comment was funny due to irony, I don't think pointing out scores in a magazine can really qualify as a valid point, and the same goes for the featured artists in AP. I can't decide what's worse. Reviewing this or reviewing that counting crows tribute. ...and my search for a new album review site begins. f you didn't like Hot Fuss, you're going to hate this Ha! AltPress guy commenting on quality control. Does that magazine give anyting less than a 3/5 anymore? I don't read it, but a quick review of their website reveals that it is not done very often. I guess they don't want to offend the record labels and lose their advertising $$$$. haha this band is a joke, what a douchebag lead singer This review was well-written, the reply to Scott's comment was good, but the actual record itself probably is not 4/5 worthy (I'm not gonna assume it sucks just because I don't like the Killers; I've never heard the record). I typed that in all caps. The effect is now missing. I like the people that write long, overwrought, emotional paragraphs then put "in all honesty this is a great record. Punk is not about conformity and if i listen to this that is challenging punk because you are the ones that conform this is cool guys seriously come on i mean seriously really okay its good for being mainstream mainstream is not bad okay" didnt' alternative press give the last simple plan record a 5/5? i know they gave hellogoodbye and cobra starship 5/5's. and panic!. "Is quality control too much to ask around here anymore?" so punknews is supposed to review nothing but 5 star albums? Go back to pitchfork, jerkoff. Spend your time reviewing real records. "Still young but no longer impressionable." I find it funny that our culture is obsessed with conformity, following trends, and glorifying celebrities, rock stars, athletes...YET our culture is also obsessed with giving shit to anyone that's really popular - ie. popular bands/singers, athletes who make big money (arod), and big name celebrities. I'm not saying these people don't deserve to get shit - god knows paris hilton and n'sync and terrell owens deserve it - but its just funny to me how we worship these people overall. I read Punknews.org so I don't have to go buy a Rolling Stone or a Spin or God forbid a copy of Alt. Press. the lillingtons album is their best yet no lillingtons yet? anyone heard that shit? If I wanted Born To Run I'd take Born To Run. oh man these beats are wicked! ...here we go!! The only people who have an excuse for listening to this crap and liking it are rich 16 year old suburban girls. the killers pretty much piss me the fuck off. I HATED HOT FUSS but I really like this record. Uncle Johnny is a shit track and so are the Enterlude/Exitlude tracks but I think the rest of them are pretty solid songs. Flowers is a pompous douche but he obviously has something going well in the songwriting dept. I wonder what Maverick will say to defend himself? Question of the millenium good review. Shut up Scott, go listen to your stupid little Spitalfield, you stupid little Spitalfield whore ! ! ! I rarely feel the need to defend a review -- mostly because I've only submitted four, but also because I recognize that I'm going to get shit here unless I put up a 5-star of the new Lawrence Arms -- but when the Associate Editor of ALTERNATIVE PRESS wants to talk about quality control, I just have to say something. You gotta be fucking kidding me. Just because someone wrote a Killers review doesn't mean you have to run it, especially when it flies in the face of virtually every real review of this record out there -- it's a stinker, plain and simple. High marks for albums like this are what make the reviews section of this site almost entirely unreliable. english rock bands! hott fuss was a great record and musicly broke the mold for other english rock bands! give em a break, you people are so into the fact that the bands you listen to can't be popular! stop being followers and stand up for what you really like and be proud of being yourself, insted of trying to look cool on some bullshit website! the new album just didn't have the same feel to the first but still had some good material! God, those singles annoyed the living fuck out of me... I'm not even going to listen to this. Score is for being closed-minded. what teh fuck? i hate this band. why is this even here? what is this? trendynews.org? I honestly gave Hott Fuss a chance and borrowed my little sisters copy one day before class and I can safely say the singles were catchy but the album got really boring. I should hope this really important album he claims this to be is slightly better. Seriously, what the fuck? i hate this band. Score's for the singer's pedophile mustache. Time to hit up the play ground buddy. hot fuss was pretty bad and the lead singer is totally full of himself and doesn't have the talent to back it, so this can easily be on my 'next please' list. you have got to be kidding me *superior pitching AND a more consistant line up "Cardinals in five." haahahahahahaha Hot Fuss was a guilty pleasure of mine but this album is a shitfest. This was The Killers' "I'm Keith Hernandez" record. |
