Published by Mason Oldridge, 20 February 2022
As the debut album of indie rockers The Killers Hot Fuss turns 18 this year, we take a look at an album that soundtracks the Saturday nights that begin when you turn 18 (or perhaps younger) and start going out.
Hot Fuss was released in 2004, a year undoubtedly one of the strongest in history. To take precedence of that year, The Killers had to fend off stern competition from the debut albums of Scissor Sisters, Keane, Franz Ferdinand and Maroon 5 as well as the greatest hits album of Robbie Williams. Despite this, Hot Fuss went on to become one of the greatest albums of the 00s and, indeed, all time.
So what is the winning formula of the Las Vegas rockers? I would argue that The Killers unique selling point that sets them apart from the rest would be Flowers’ unique vocals and the delicate balance between rhythmic guitar and blaring synth, something glaringly obvious within this effort. The album opens on Jenny Was a Friend of Mine, which, despite never being released as a single, became a firm fan favourite. Pairing Stoermer’s slick bassline with Flowers’ aggressive vocals, Jenny introduces us to the sound that we have come to love.
Mr. Brightside is the lead single and signature song of the album and the band overall. Based upon the real life events of Flowers’ finding his girlfriend cheating on him, the anthemic hit details the unbearable jealousy of imagining your lover being intimate with another man, chronicled by the heartbreaking lyrics “now they’re going to bed and my stomach is sick” a situation that anyone who has experienced will know is all too painful. Despite the devastating subject matter, the track has become timelessly infamous and you’ll struggle to find a single dancefloor where this doesn’t play at some point on a Saturday night. Furthermore, its success is shown in the fact that it is still in the UK charts every week without fail, kicking around the 75 mark.
Following Mr. Brightside is its original B-side Smile Like You Mean It, which features what is quite possibly the greatest synth hook ever. Exploring what is hidden behind a fake smile, the track tells of someone struggling with growing older and missing their sentimental past. Everyone has some memories they desperately miss, giving a hard-hitting emotional impact to the song. Aided by the haunting use of the Echo Farm distortion in Flowers’ vocals, here is another example of a heart-breaking tune you can’t help but dance to.
Somebody Told Me is a fast-paced rock song that offers no gap in vocals to breathe which quite nicely mirrors the shortness of breath one might feel when desperately trying to pick someone up in a bar to no avail, the focus of the song. This commercially-successful follow-up single is also highly relatable with the experience of swallowing your pride to give in to desperation that too features the trademark Killers sound that draws you up on the dancefloor.
Third single All These Things That I’ve Done brings about a slowed change of pace with a piano intro that erupts into another Killers classic. Matched with a wild west-themed music video providing a patriotic nod to their Nevada background, this shows The Killers are proud of their roots, something that would be further seen in their videos and artwork.
Mid-album track Andy, You’re a Star stops listeners in their tracks with a kick-ass bassline and makes excellent use of split-sound in a song full of homosexual undertones. It tells of a boy admiring a high school jock named Andy and feeling ashamed of homosexual feelings. These two elements are respectively represented in the lines “on the field I remember you were incredible” followed by the shameful denial “hey shut up”. Lyrics provide the narrator’s embarrassment before ascending to the chorus’ admission as he begs Andy to not choose the girl: “promise me she’s not your world, ‘cause Andy, you’re a star”. Reports claim Andy was a real jock at Brandon’s high school but differ in truth, with some stating the lyrics are ironic as a comment on Andy’s egotistical attitude where others claim they were actually friends.
On Top sees Flowers give an incredible keyboard riff that defines the song. It could be argued this is left up to interpretation with the main subject said to be about drug use though can also be viewed as focusing on the band’s feelings of performing live. Alternatively, it is difficult not to hear the sexual undertones in the song with lyrics hinting at the anxiety and adrenaline felt over the intimacy of sex. Lyrics such as “some other DJ in some other town” point towards the subject of live performances where lyrics such as “I can’t crack, we’re on top” suggests the high of taking drugs. However, “the velvet sun that shines on me and you” hints at the euphoric feeling of sex and the adrenaline experienced in that setting, backed up with the sly comment “I don’t need to satisfy tonight, it’s like a cigarette in the mouth”. It is unclear whether being under the influence is helping the narrator feeling “on top” of the world or if it’s a more intimate situation that is creating this sensation or whether he is physically “on top” of someone else but either way it is a melodic insight into a wild night.
The group went on to further success with hits such as the emotional “When You Were Young”, dance-orientated “Human” and the egocentric “The Man” but nothing quite like the Hot Fuss tracks of the band’s early days replicate that Saturday night feeling via a mix of experiences both good and bad including heartbreak, memories, nostalgia, desperation, sexuality and euphoria. It is the exploration of human experience mixed with The Killers’ nostalgic sound, alongside excessive airplay, that recreate the Saturday night out so perfectly. It can’t help but beg the question: are we human or are we dancer?