Sams Town [Import]

I listened to this album quite a few times before reviewing it because I just wasn't sure what to think of it. After all, these are the guys who brought the chant "I've got soul but I'm not a soldier" to the world, and after a great debut album like "Hot Fuss", it's only natural that we'd expect greatness on this one.

The songs are okay, don't get me wrong, but the "killer" spark seems to be missing somehow. First single "When You Were Young" sounds like a sample of "Speed of Sound" by Coldplay. Lead singer Brandon Flowers mixes Springsteen and Billy Joel as he sings: "We're burning down the highway skyline on the back of a hurricane it started turning when you were young"

Second single "Bones" is a better track, with horns and stuff to make it exciting and the title track has nice dramatic touches. "Bling" sounds like U2, as does "For Reasons Unknown". "Read My Mind" is a mainstream track, and although the music is great, the vocals don't quite match up. "Uncle Johnny" is filler material, as is "My List". "This River is Wild" has a great chorus and "Why Do I Keep Counting" reminds me of "Don't Let it End" by Styx.

I was expecting a rock honeymoon in Vegas, but The Killers left me waiting at the chapel.

Rated: 3.5 stars

Amanda Richards

I want to keep this short and sweet...In hearing "Sam's Town" by the Killers for the first time, I was taken back to a time when an album was valued for an album, not singles like they are today.

This album is not to be taken apart like their first album. It was taken apart bit by bit by the record Producers dying for a single to be released for more profit. I say, kudos to The Killers for releasing this album instead of something that everyone expected to mirror their debut.

In their sophmore album, The Killers demonstrate many of the concepts that are similiar to John Melloncamp, Tom Petty or more specifically, Bruce Springsteen. But what most don't hear when they first listen to this album is the structure that would be a full blown 'original cast recording' of what could quite possibly be a musical (mind you, something off broadway.)

The way the album is set up, it wants to build up to some huge climax between this man who is taking his new girlfriend of sometime back to his roots...his hometown. It tries to come up with some sort of story of the town, and does so very well with the help of the intro and extro and song's like "Uncle Jonny" where Sam tells his girlfriend about his uncle who used to take cocaine.

What Sam's Town does very well is keep the listen (or should I say 'audience') interested in what this fictional 'place' has to offer.

Anyway, I said I wanted to keep this short, and I hope I made it clear what this album says to me. But I must say, it says it very well. And again, kudos to The Killers for not releasing another album like their first one (Hot Fuss) that is just a whole bunch of 'singles' just glued together.

Just to clear things out, I'm not a huge Killers fan. I liked a lot of the material on their first album though. When I heard this album I was pretty disappointed. It has its standout of course. But I noticed that the songs that do stand out for me are the ones that could've been on the first album. Brandon Flowers said that they were influenced by Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty on this album. I can see the Bruce Springsteen influences more than the Tom Petty influences.

"Sam's Town" is the opener. It doesn't sound like anything we've heard this band do before. At first I didn't like this song. I quite disliked it actually. Now after a few listens I've discovered that at best it's a slightly above average song.

"When You Were Young" is an obvious standout. It's very immediate. It sounds like it could've been on the first album.

"Bling (Confessions Of a King)" is another standout. Although the song title sucks, it's one of the better songs you're going to hear on the album.

"For Reasons Unknown" is my favorite song on the album. It's the "Mr. Brightside" of "Sam's Town". I don't know why I see it that way. It's just so catchy... I really think it should've been the second single (or the first, now that I think of it) instead of "Bones". It starts with a Strokes-esque verse produced to match the Killers' style. Then when you hear "that effect" in the bridge you start to notice how good this song is.

"Change My Mind" is also a pretty good song. I can see Chris Martin singing it actually. But don't worry, they haven't gone all Coldplay on us. And it's not cheesy or anything. It's one of the best songs on the album actually. It's very "synth-y"... Very Killers...

Now that I think of it, those 4 songs ("When You Were Young", "Bling", "For Reasons Unknown" and "Change My Mind") are my favorites on the album. That's pretty much the best part of the album. Cause after "Change My Mind" most of the material is mediocre.

"Uncle Johnny" is forgettable. I wish they used that choir (or whatever it is) more. Cause really, the last 30 seconds of the song are pretty good, thanks to the choir. There's just not enough of it to save the song though.

"Bones" starts with an awesome intro. But when the horns, or whatever they are, kick in the song is ruined. It just doesn't work... What were they thinking...

"My List" starts with a pretty cool intro too. But then the song starts you can't help but feel bored. The outro is also nice since it's exactly like the intro, still not enough to save the whole song though.

"This River Is Wild" and "Why Do I Keep Counting" are totally filler. Even though the former is better than the latter, neither of them is really memorable. The "Enterlude" and "Exitlude" tracks are okay. They're pretty useless, but they beat a lot of the stuff on the album. Though I'm sure if they were 4 minutes long they would've been just as bad... I think... maybe... whatever

So anyways, this was an okay effort by a band who could've done better. Oh well, it still has its moments. I just hope their next effort's better...