The recent release of Brandon Flowers' 1st solo offering has been the catalyst for my assessment of the catalogue of Las Vegas' most famous rock band of the new millennium, and to question as to where The Killers stand in music history.
2005's debut CD release of "Hot Fuss" featured the very radio-friendly "Somebody Told Me"; this CD was a multi-platinum commercial success. Via the media, we started to learn more & more about The Killers and their charismatic lead singer. Asides from The Osmond family, Flowers is the only musician who readily promotes his Mormon faith to the public, thus some sections of their audience started to question The Killers' "appropriateness" as a contender for the highest rock mantle.
I have previously read that Brandon Flowers was very disappointed with the public's reaction to 2006's CD release of "Sam's Town". In listening to this CD again in its entirety, my initial reaction is one of complete confusion.
Let's put things into perspective. A major record company would be pushing for "more of the same" if a rock band's 1st CD release is a commercial smash. Unfortunately, "Sam's Town" was essentially a concept CD focussing on Flowers' early years in Las Vegas. Call me a cynic, however concept CDs are a sure fire bet in alienating your listening audience. Any momentum that The Killers had in being the next U2 or Coldplay was lost at this point...
This being said, "Sam's Town" does have its moments. The Killers get it right with "Read My Mind"; an interesting intro and a well structured pop song. However, "When You Were Young" & "Bones" [the other singles from the CD] are essentially the same song with different lyrics.
Ignoring the 2007 B-side CD "Sawdust", 2008's "Day & Age" was the all important 3rd CD and an opportunity for the group to retain a critical mass following. If anything, The Killers' moved further away from a commercial audience, with "Human" being the only single of note to be released from a generally disappointing CD.
From that point, all of the usual rumours applied to The Killers. There were numerous stories in the media that the band's 2008/ 2009 world tour was "downsized" from stadiums to theatres, plus there was the constant speculation of friction amongst band members. A self-imposed hiatus was promptly followed by Flowers' solo debut, which hasn't been particularly well received by the media.
The Killers do have a realisic chance of being a very successful rock band, because they can write great commercial songs, plus Brandon Flowers is a very interesting personality. At this stage, they need to decide upon their musical genre direction and stick to this path. I can hear far too many blatant influences in their songs [Queen, new age Punk, David Bowie, Icehouse, Bruce Springsteen], thus they need to rediscover a level of musical focus and the world could be their oyster...
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