Hot Fuss

Amazonのエディトリアルレビューより

Amazon.co.jp

   キラーズは、もっともアメリカらしい街のひとつであるラスヴェガスの出身。だがこのデビュー作では、大西洋を越えてUKロック崇拝の傾向が及んでいることを見せつけている。スミスやパルプの楽曲に傾倒し、都会的でスタイリッシュなロマンスに満ちた物語を、あふれんばかりの80年代風のシンセで包みこんでおり、尊大なサウンドよりも恍惚感を重視しているのがみてとれる。

   とは言え本作は、ほぼ全編とおして陽気なアルバムであり、煙ったいVIPルームよりも満員のクラブの方がよく似合う。とりわけ「On Top」「Somebody Told Me」「Mr Brightside」は、息をのむインディー・ポップの絶好の見本だ。愛にときめく鼓動のように疾走しながら、フロントマンのブランドン・フラワーズが閉所恐怖症になりそうなディスコ・フロアで息を弾ませている。本作でキラーズが全力を尽くしているのはまちがいない。バンドのスタイルとは異なる曲にさえ、素晴らしいアイディアを取り入れているのだ。そのいい例が、「All These Things I've Done」で「おれにはソウルがある／でも、おれはソウルジャー（兵隊）じゃない」と繰り返し叫ぶフラワーズとかけあうゴスペルの合唱や、ブロードウェイ・ミュージカルのクロージング・ナンバーのような興奮と風格を持った自意識過剰なまでに壮大な「Indie Rock'n'Roll」だ。（Louis Pattison, Amazon.co.uk）

Album Description

Hot Fuss features eleven nuggets of reel-you-in storytelling genius and musical nectar. These eleven tracks span from the "very Vegas – like Ziggy came to town" first proper single release "Somebody Told Me";"Mr Brightside" - a tale of jealousy that depicts that moment in a relationship when you realize that your other half might be playing away and this thought takes up residence in your psyche feeding the worst fears and visualisations your imagination can then throw at you. You’ll find two-thirds of a murder trilogy in "Midnight Show", which starts off harking back to "Lipgloss" before veering into far darker territory than old Jarvis would ever have flirted with, in Pulp days at least, and "Jenny". These two are connected by the story of a murder of a girl by her jealous boyfriend. The first part of the trilogy, "Leave The Bourbon On The Shelf", will, you can be sure, make an appearance at some point in the future. It’s a deliciously ambitious series that! belies the band’s tender years. Elsewhere, meanwhile: "On Top" celebrates where Brandon feels the band is at, while stalker’s tale "Andy You’re A Star" and "All These Things That I’ve Done," saw Flowers realise his dream of using a gospel choir in their recordings.

Amazon.com

The Killers match postpunk guitars with a synthesizer overlay that recalls '80s New Wave without burying their sound in nostalgia. On their debut, Hot Fuss, frontman Brandon Flowers plumbs his imagination for tales of murdered lovers ("Jenny Was a Friend of Mine," "Midnight Show"), voyeurism ("Mr. Brightside"), and sexual confusion (the single "Somebody Told Me"), Flowers and his mates are obviously canny students; the total effect is of a playacted obsession, but one made irresistible by their skillful, catchy songs. If there's an occasional misstep (the painfully earnest line "I got soul but I'm not a soldier" from "All These Things That I've Done"), it seems of a piece with the Killers' influences. As it is, Hot Fuss is one of several recent releases that bring a diverting faux glamour to the mainstream rock scene. --Rickey Wright