The Critical Asshole: Listening to...

I feel like I won the mix tape competition. You should put a lot of thought into a mix tape, but then again you shouldn’t—it’s like an act of thoughtfulness. No chick wants a shitty picnic because you’re too cheap to take her to dinner, they want a shitty picnic because you’re doing something that you pretend is effortlessly kind. That is the same as a mix tape—it is a tender expression of something effortlessly kind.

A mix tape works on the same principal as a shitty picnic for a lover—it should be effortless in the sense that the songs should inherently pick themselves, and it should be kind in the sense that it is for someone else. It’s easy to pull your favorite playlist off an iPod, it is much more difficult to DJ a collection of music designed to provoke thought, discussion, and discovery of new art. It’s got to begin with a cold open, contain rise and falls, peak with a climax, and descend with a perfectly bound resolution.

Now saying that…sophomore LP’s have a steep hill to climb anyway what with all the expectations, the crappy late-night TV appearances, the shows, the criticism of selling out from past fans, there’s a lot that can go wrong in terms of image, execution, and substance. Nevertheless, bad art deserves to be lambasted in full public view. Fortunately for all of us, this isn’t bad art—keep in my it’s not The Bends or Nevermind, but it’s definitely not bad art. So God bless those boys from Las Vegas. We’ve get them on record creating their own original Killers Mix Tape. We’ve got a cold open, rising and falling mood swings, a beautiful peak, and a descent into a perfectly bound resolution.

Sam’s Town, named after a hotel/casino in Las Vegas opened in 1979 hoping to cater to the locals, is a gallant and cohesive romp through 12 tracks (a perfect number) that would make any Smiths/New Order/Bauhaus fan squirm in their seat. From the goth-epic opener and title track “Sam’s Town” one gets a sense that Flowers and crew are aching for every moment to be a reflection of inner-drama and self absorbed intensity. Nothing lets up. Every song, whether solemn or sonic is a battle march of sweeping synth-pop energy that drives and drives and won’t let up. This is danceable and fun, and at the same time conveys much tragedy through lead singer Brandon Flowers manic and desperate singing and lyricism.
There are moments though that we find ourselves enveloped in cliches and self-indulgence of big choral sing-alongs and big beat antics (“Uncle Johnny” and “My List”) but at least we are being presented with at least a few new sounds, a few new lyrics, and a different—if only slightly—side of the Killers—though the cheesy entrance and exit of the album (“Enterlude” and “Exitlude”) is simply unforgivable.
The choruses are big and memorable, the beat is steady and true…the only thing that is missing is a little of that “Fuck you”ism that seems to make good rock bands great. This is a great album because it is overall very good, and underneath lies the intention of writing, performing, and recording music that pleases the fans—and at base I doubt that there’s a whole lot that’s wrong with that.

Highlights:

“When You Were Young” - the big single, again, big, has a killer beat like what we loved about “Hot Fuss.”
“For Reasons Unknown” - driving, lots of energy with Flower’s desperate, manic lyrics and vocal prowess. Lyrics are way more accessible than on other Killers’ tunes
“Read My Mind” - brilliant, tender, the Killers at their best yet. Setting up a mood or darkly, veiled optimism shifts effortlessly between the different motions of structure of the song. One of the better written songs musically.
“Bones” - a little bit more traditional rock makes for a fun, lighthearted romp at times. Horns are great. Smiths-like with dark, sexual lyrics in front of quirky pop.