Glamorous Indie Rock & Roll

The Killers released their debut album ‘Hot Fuss’ twenty years ago today. An album made by four indie upstarts from ‘Fablous Las Vegas, Nevada’. 

An album that does not sound like a debut album at all. The Killers sounded polished professional and unlike their counterparts at the time, they weren't afraid to write pop songs. 

This album has some of the band's most well-known tracks. ‘Mr Brightside’ is still in the British Top 100 and hasn't dropped out since its release in 2004. Recently becoming the most successful song to never hit Number One in the UK taking the crown from Oasis and their song ‘Wonderwall’

‘Somebody Told Me’ combined the bands love of British indie music with synth pop, to create a dance floor filling classic. With a chorus that you cannot help but sing along too. The Killers have a knack for creating these ear worms, and Hot Fuss is full of them.

‘Jenny Was A Friend of Mine’ opens the record and tells the story of a police interview about a murder. A real opening of intent with one of the best choruses the band have ever written. 

If you've made it to the sixth track ‘Andy You’re a Star’ you've already heard ‘Jenny Was a Friend of Mine’, Mr Brightside, ‘Somebody Told Me’, ‘Smile Like You Mean It’ and ‘All These Things I’ve Done’

That reads like a greatest hits record rather than a debut album. ‘Andy You’re A Star’ provides a time for reflection and sees Brandon Flowers talk about a old school friend, and his popularity at school. Yet the song doesn't lose its anthemic quality. 

Every song on this record sounds like it was made to close out a festival or a huge stadium gig. The Killers were writing songs for Glastonbury and Wembley right from the very start. 

The bands surroundings come out in these songs too. Growing up in Las Vegas, provides the band with the showmanship they need to execute these songs. 

All four of the band poured themselves into this record, its a record written by a small band, who believed that they could be the biggest band in the world. The belief is translated into every song. 

The Killers took there name from a fake band in a New Order music video. 

And the influence of the band can be heard on this record. The Killers looked to the past, they're huge fans of U2 and The Smiths, Oasis too. But also to what was happening around them, they were in direct competition with The Strokes, The Libertines and Franz Ferdinand. 

Where those bands sometimes struggled to make the next step. The Killers knew where they were going to be from day one. ‘On Top’ these songs were just the start, and looking back at them twenty years later. Its sometimes hard to look at them in isolation, knowing what comes next. 

However what we can do is highlight just how good they are, twenty years later the singles still sound huge. The album tracks are some of the most underrated stuff. ‘Believe Me Natalie’ for example is a heartfelt tale of AIDS and the end of Disco. Highlighting Brandon's storytelling approach to songwriting early on in the band's career. 

These songs still mean something all these years later. The Killers still attract huge crowds and new fans. They are not the same band they were in 2004, but there's still a little sprinkle of ‘Hot Fuss’ in everything they do 

Thank you for reading x