Hot Fuss

Wouldn't call myself a killers fan but the first half of the album is full of hits. Reminds me of uni. Second half isn't as good All killer(s), half filler..... I'll see myself out

This album was massive and inescapable when it was released, and it's a banger. I believe that as time goes on and the band is less oversaturated in the popular culture, appreciation for this album will grow. Best track: Mr. Brightside

** VOMITS LOUDLY **

Today, in 2023, I am no longer a 12-year old American boy. No longer am I the pimpled king of "Roller Kingdom," scared to death to meet the eyes of my middle school crush in the adjoining Birthday Party Room. Nor do I wait for the 6:45am bus, scribbling frantic answers to a history worksheet– a poor writing surface, those bus seats!– that has small, pitying holes in it from my erasable pen. These facts put me at an extreme, almost disqualifying disadvantage to rate an album like this. A genuine handicap for an album whose influence is foundational to many of my 2000's peers, but in retrospect may only be a good time if you're deep in Angst Mode. I knew kids who picked up guitar because they listened to this CD! The patron saints of Lazer Zones everywhere. In seriousness. I like my Blur, I like my Arctic Monkeys, I like my Strokes. This is hard to get through. Grating. This shouldn't happen, because I know all the songs already. Halfway through, I'm thinking, "Maybe I'm having fun! Maybe I should sneak one of these songs in at my wedding." Alas. Not Enough Fun. A generous 3 might be possible. But I have dutifully deducted a point for the refrain, "I've got soul but I'm not a soldier," sung forty times behind a gospel choir. That line's been bouncing around in my head since the Roller Kingdom Days, and unfortunately, now illuminated by the scribes of Genius, it yields no special magic. 2/5

This is music for a "Now That's What I Call Music" CD that you'd find at the checkout counter at CVS.

I find the Killers fatiguing. They fatigued me when I first listened to them when this came out in high school, and they still fatigue me 18 years later. They just zap my energy. I will say, Mr. Brightside is the one bright spot on the album. They really nailed a particular emotion, and it resonates. I was at a karaoke bar in Minneapolis this weekend, and someone sang that song - the whole bar sang along, which was really a blessing since the guy was tone deaf. But the song still resonated, and we could all feel the energy. I watched a Song Exploder episode on one of their songs recently - I like that show, but this episode was boring, it lacked content, and I blame The Killers. The song was not from this album, but it doesn't matter that much because all their stuff sounds kind of the same. It added to my dislike of them, hearing how they could barely articulate where the lyrics came from, or what the song was about. The most compelling moment was when they said the guitar riff sounds like "the desert" - they are from Las Vegas. But the song sounded more like Las Vegas itself - a grotesque manifestation of capitalism, an illusion of prosperity and vitality, a thin veil concealing a vast emptiness. That's how this album makes me feel, and not in a good way.

How is this album better than their greatest hits one

Not ground-breaking, not deep lyrics, but simply banging tune after banging tune.

I remember when I first heard “Mr. Brightside” in a middle school PE class where we had to select songs to choreograph a dance too. We played that song 500 times and it never got old. I remember the first time I heard “All These Things That I’ve Done” on the radio on KROQ in my Mom’s Ford Explorer and it stopped me dead in my tracks; I had to know who wrote this; probably the first time I ever felt that. I remember first hearing “Somebody Told Me,” also on the radio, and wondering how a boyfriend could look like a girlfriend. I remember when I finally bought the CD and discovered this band of 3 radio-friendly songs had numerous other hits on the very same debut album; namely, “Jenny,” “Smile,” “Andy,” and, my favorite, ”Change Your Mind.” I remember high school, and feeling ashamed for ever having liked these songs. I remember in college when it became cool to play these songs again, at parties and karaoke and such; later, weddings. I remember Phoebe Bridgers’ atmospheric rise and how she and her moment suddenly made Brandon Flowers “cool” and “significant” again. I remember at one time thinking this album was front-loaded with hits, but listening again, I can attest it is truly front-to-back loaded with hits. Last week, this album hit me like a ton of bricks. Not only because of the nostalgia I have wrapped up inside it. But truly because of how solid and emotional a record it is. How good the songwriting is. How good it all sounds. I have it on CD. The same CD I bought all those years ago—one of the first CDs I ever bought honestly—and still in great condition. The production and mix is awesome. This album and this band is as good as any that came to fruition in the mid-aughts. I’d take this in the same hand I’d take the Strokes debut. And honestly, a comparative study of those two albums might yield an interesting piece on music criticism, fashion trends, song-writing, rock populism, and stardom in the first decade of the century. They are perhaps the two most significant debuts of the era, after all. Sadly, where the troubled Julian Casablancas was heralded as some kind of genius and critical darling, Brandon Flowers was written off as a pop star. When critics turn their back on bands, bands tend to turn their back on critics. And when band’s turn their back on critics, they play for fans. I think you can see that happen to The Killers after this album. Where this album is specific, nuanced, and personal, latter efforts are broad and populist. Where Hot Fuss finds a group of Las Vegas natives stumbling upon songs that would speak to hundreds of millions all across the globe, subsequent efforts finds that same group working to write more songs like that. All I can say is it’s a shame. It’s a shame we didn’t foster and encourage the artistry of a band that gave us one of the best debuts of any era. I’m giving this a 5 for posterity’s sake if nothing else. But Hot Fuss is every bit deserving.

The front of this album is phenomenal, hard to believe they had so many hits on their first release.

I don’t know who decided this band was good, but it wasn’t me.

Amazing

Love

Initial thoughts: some good moments shine through but overall the vocals are mediocre and the mixing is terrible. You can tell Mr. Brightside is what they put effort in because they knew it would be the radio hit, everything else is filler so far. Final thoughts: bad. Mixing and vocals stay horrible, lyrics are lame and sometimes misogynistic or slightly transphobic?? Best song: Mr Brightside Worst song: Everything else (specifically On Top, Midnight Show, Everything Will Be Alright)

Absolute classic - entire album is sublime.

Classic all time rock album

Hot Fuss is one of the best alternative albums of the 2000's. An absolute classic. "Mr.Brightside" is one of the best songs ever made in the genre and it's popularity proves that. You'll discover something new you love about the album every time you listen. For me this listen, I really appreciated "On Top". 5/5. Favorite Songs: "Mr. Brightside", "Smile Like You Mean It", "All These Things That I've Done", "Jenny Was A Friend of Mine", "Change Your Mind", "On Top"

Booo

Great album

Plenty of skill there, a great mix of electronic and rock. Kept being surprised at how many great songs kept coming

What a strong debut album. With several hit singles, it's got a great combination of new wave and post punk influenced indie rock.

I felt sure this would be a 5 based on personal history with this record; an actual listen left me feeling it was a 4 but I will maintain my rating based on nostalgia (which is probably wildly inconsistent with other scoring decisions). There were many THE ALBUMS during my college tenure, but this one might have been the most played of all of them. Wore this album out with friends, it was perfect background music for a party, a card game, or a quieter Sunday morning. The Vegas synth vibes are so unique and defining. Every song such a turn from the last, but still cohesive. My recollection was that this was a non-stop 12 tracks of greatness; my revisit made me realize I don't remember the last 3 tracks on it very well at all, and there is a fall off. Strange how memory is. Regardless, there is a 7 song tear here that's unparalleled.

Cuando el primer disco de un grupo es así de bueno luego pueden pasar dos cosas, que se superen (creo que lo hicieron al menos con algunas canciones) o que nunca brillen tanto. Es un grupo que me sigue gustando, pero creo que el impacto general que me causó este disco no lo han repetido. Imprescindible del nuevo siglo. Empieza fuerte con 4 canciones como son "Jenny Was a Friend of Mine", "Mr. Brightside", "Smile Like You Mean It" y "Somebody Told Me". Tiene un parón y remonta con "On Top", "Change Your Mind" y "Believe Me Natalie" para llegar al final catártico de "Everything Will Be Alright". 5 estrellas *****

Zoe, was it your mum who recently told you something like “I’ve just started listening to this cool band The Killers! Have you heard of them?” I think that was your story anyway and I kept thinking of it listening to this because I feel like it sounds like ‘parent music’ even though it’s not actually of that generation, like some of it is actually very fun and cool, but a lot of it comes across as quite daggy or dorky now somehow. Like it’s a bit… try-hard? But also it’s pretty good? Like it’s both kind of outdated and also some of it slaps. Also really catapults me back to playing Rock Band (or maybe Guitar Hero or SingStar? I can’t remember which game it was actually on but it was definitely one of them) on the PlayStation 2 with my sisters and belting out ‘SOMEBODY TOLD ME’. Now that song still hits like a freight train! As does Mr Brightside obviously even though it’s been so memefied over the years. Some other parts made me think of Franz Ferdinand and Walk the Moon and other bands of that ilk. Mixed bag overall, but enjoyable! (3.5 stars)

Enjoying this as an album means fighting against decades of radio overplay for a full half of these songs. It's not always easy to do. But ultimately they were hits for a reason: catchy pop rock, with clever, straightforward writing and a glitzy production that set it apart from its indie rock contemporaries. It's not my favorite Killers album but this one is very good. High 3.

An album that had some massive hits. Probably not heard it in full for 20 years or more. The hits are great songs, but there is also a lot of filler

I generally dislike this band — Brandon has always struck me as a Springsteen wanna-be and it doesn’t work for him. Also I am super tired of Mr. Brightside (as is Jeff, who is generally a big fan of the group). However overall,some decent tracks here — forgot about the other hits here (Smile Like you Mean It, and Somebody Told Me), which are pretty good. 2.5 somewhat reluctantly rounded up.

Some great anthems but also some sloppy and half baked ones.

It's cool but maybe feels too generic for me. I prefer the sings where they sound more "punkish" like mr.brightside. But overall enjoyed it.

Mr Brightside is such an anthem it pretty much overshadows the rest of the album but it does get an extra star for that song!

Slightly annoying but mostly just meh..

Good album, no bad tracks, couple of bangers OBvS... Just doesn't quite stick to my soul

The Killers have three songs. They are all on this album. They are the three songs I played on repeat when I bought this CD in 2004. The rest of the songs border between forgettable and bad. 6/10

Not one of the 1000 most valuable albums of all time in my opinion

It suffers slightly from being front-loaded with the singles (okay, technically Jenny wasn't, but ykwim), but this is just some really good foundational 00s indie right here, I am being nostalgia bombed *hard* (also like. Said singles are really really good)

What a feast for the ears. After enduring so much drab, bland and average music, how good to listen to something that's just so damn enjoyable. It's also a rare album where I love the slow songs as much as the bangers. Also maybe it's because I'm about to move house and feeling oddly emotional about being at a transitional point in life, but Change Your Mind and Andy, You're a Star really hit me as beautiful, even the lyrics probably don't hold all that much meaning.

Sound of my childhood. Got weirdly emotional listening to it again.

So gooooooooddddd

*inhales* SOMEBODY TOLD ME was no one going to tell me the other killers songs are actually good too? I should have listened to this sooner

Oh I know this one, so many fave Killers songs. Jenny was a friend of mine is a banger opener, love that bass line. A couple songs I did not recognize.

The perfect early 2000s alt-pop album. Hot Fuss is one I revisit a few times a year. The Killers is a solid band all around.

great bass playing, full of classics, and before what i think is their best album. shame they didnt fire on as many cylinders afterwards.

It’s hard to disentangle nostalgia from merit on this album, but I definitely enjoyed listening to it. The songs do a good job of feeling distinct but tied together

Huge nostalgia bump for this one - was popular with the crowd I ran with when I first moved to Japan. "Mr Brightside" is a stonking karaoke tune, but there are a bunch of other tunes I regard fondly too, it turns out. Fave track - toss up between "Mr Brightside", "All These Things That I've Done", and "Somebody Told Me"... They really front loaded this one, eh.

que buena banda the killers

Ja lekker hoor, lekker vrolijk, goede beats en paar echte klassiekers. Misschien iets te poppy/fout, maar ach. 5*

Great album!

Wahnsinn. Teil meiner Jugend. 10/10 für mich!

I really wasn't expecting to give this 5 stars but I don't see any other option. There was a little bit of a lull in after the first half or so, but that first half was pretty incredible.

i'm not sure how it got in my head that this had soured for me, perhaps a slight overdose of mr. brightside and the fact that i maybe never spent as much time with the album as a whole as i thought, but wow does this still hold up start to finish (listened previously) 1 albums listened/heard previously

In a full circle moment, as the album's penultimate track "Everything Will Be Alright" plays, that first curious memory and through today, the absolute satisfaction of an album being more than a single song plays into the rating. While nostalgia is an unreliable judge, here is an album where it gets it right without much if any argument.

Know most of these already

Overplayed but still a classic

such an iconic album. can’t get better than mr bright side and somebody told me when you’re going 2000s. i loved this throwback 😂 also sweet disposition by the temper trap came on after the album ended and nothing can put me in a better mood. such a jam

Fantastic album from start to finish, just straight up good music with a rollercoaster of sounds and feelings starting off just above mid-level, rising up to peak and then gradually coming back down with some fast bumps finally tailing off with a bit more subtlety and delicacy. Full of great hits and not a single bad song among them; this is an album that almost anyone can listen to in some sort of capacity and not really have anything negative to say about it other than a song or two has probably been overplayed when it came out but those were certainly deservedly overplayed.

“All please rise for the National Anthem of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, ‘Mr. Brightside’.”

Sometimes you come across an album where you feel like it could have had a significant impact on how your listening tastes developed had you heard it when you were younger. This is one of those albums for me: Pop rock perfection. While this is an undoubtedly lopsided album after the first five tracks, it feels a little unfair to expect an entire album of hit singles. Maintaining that quality across the whole album is simply unsustainable for an act like the Killers, but there’s still a lot of fun to be had in tunes like Indie Rock & Roll and Change Your Mind. I slept on this album for too long - it’s fucking great. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Very nostalgic and reminds me of my best friend

Maybe I’m just looking for a (mister) bright side right now but this was a nice throwback to arena alt-rock, lots of songs I thoroughly enjoy. Really didn’t expect to enjoy this as much as I did, but in terms of surprises, this was a nice one.

Did you know that in Super Metroid if you place bombs in sync to Mr Brightside you can propell yourself up and sequence break?

The first half is seamless and truly remarkable. After that, you're just waiting for the album to end. Nevertheless, it's still a feat.

Throwback, strange to listen through again. Mr bright side isn’t even the best song.

Really liked this. Knew Mr. Brightside from many a club night obviously, but some of the others were surprisingly familiar too.

I remember this one fondly. I really liked Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine, and it’s still a terrific opening track. Unlike the rest of the world I wasn’t too smitten with Brightside, but really dug Somebody Told Me. Outside of those tracks though, I can take it or leave it, album-wise.

A tale of two halves. The front half, incredible. Even the B-sides, awesome. Then the second half came on… and I wasn’t sure I was listening to the same album. It was awful, nothing memorable except the feeling of dread that I couldn’t skip the songs.

Ok

This was better than I expected it to be, though still not great. Everyone's heard the singles a thousand times, and they're good for what they are: pop rock with a tiny bit of punk edge. It's when they lose that bit of edge that it starts to be worse. Prime example being the line "I got soul but I'm not a soldier", that's just awful. The following track, "Andy You're a Star" is also pretty bad mostly due to tempo and lack of chord changes in the verse. Basically after "All these things I've done" the songs all start to sound all the same and don't have a real catchy hook or interesting verses to do much. They're too similar to the *clap clap* HEY bands of the era without any of the annoying mustaches or ridiculous 17 person percussion setups. They definitely have a distinct sound, there's just not enough progression of it during the album. The playing is good and I like the tone all of the instruments have; you can distinguish all of them very well. But ultimately, if you like one of the non-singles you'll like all of them, and if you don't, you wont. Special mention for the last track, which sounds like that really bad Hoobastank song but about a indie rock instead of a relationship. Yeesh.

I'm old enough to remember the 1980s when indie/alternative music was a genuinely alternative industry to mainstream music with independent radio, labels, venues and stores, not just a genre label to create commercial radio playlists. And this album is where "indie" ended up after a decade... the singles are anthemic and the album overall doesn't suck, but I'm not enthused. 2.5 stars.

Fine. I feel like I’m watching TV in the late ‘00s. Full disclosure: I’m pretty bummed and currently not in a music mood. Sorry, The Killers.

Perhaps it’s just the dim aftermath of the events of yesterday that have left me with a disconnected inability to enjoy things, but the numbness I felt while listening to this gave me a pretty “meh” reaction to it. It’s fine.

I was surprised how much I knew some of these songs having never intentionally listened to them. Almost a manufactured in a lab feel. The hits are full on ear worms. The vocals are often obfuscated to probably make up for something lacking or it seems to be just a producer obsessed with a new vocal effect. It's one of the more listenable versions of New Wave. Sonically it can feel a little repetitive at times. Andy, You're a Star had some cool bits. I hate the last track. Started as a high 4 for me but halfway through cracks formed.

So these are the lads who did "I've got ham but I'm not a hamster"?

Not super into it, but it wasn't bad either. The Killers are good at writing tunes that are catchy at first but don't have a lot of real substance. But there's nothing in their music I actively dislike, so I guess it's a solid "average" record for me.

None of the songs on this record did anything for me. There wasn’t a surge of pleasure at a catchy hook, a memorable lyric, or anything of the sort. Even “Mr. Brightside” went in on ear and out the other.

This album was incredibly front-loaded. The first 5 tracks are all great and some of the best that The Killers have ever put out, but it takes a sharp dive in quality afterwards for the rest of the album. The lack of consistency in quality is what drags the score down so much.

Corporate indie for elliptical machines and hockey games. Super high-energy hype up music expertly assembling the most excitable elements of millennial guitar rock from alt rock, emo & pop-punk, post-rock and garage revival (epic reverby guitars, driving bass, synth hooks, marching drums) to create an explosive anthemic sound. They blow their wad on track two with Mr Brightside though and the rest can't reach that level. A compilation of the best of Killers, Bloc Party, Snow Patrol, Twilight Sad, post Is This It Strokes, mid-career Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand, the Arcade Fire jock jams and all the other bands from this era that sound like this would be an awesome CD-length album representing the last gasps and final dying fling of guitar rock. But there's too much samey filler on this album and oh my god the 'soul not a soldier' and 'INDIE ROCK AND ROLL' bits made me throw my headphones into the bin. What about this makes it sound incredibly British?

literally only tried for the first three songs, they're calling it the worst closer in history, tragic loss of life, etcetera, etcetera.

Good pop-alt rock, but overall it does feel like it lacks something to make it special outside of the popular singles

It's like Wonder bread.. flavorless, mushy, boring, soft and pale white.

Never listened to this album end to end before, but felt like I had already such was and is the frequency with which they seem to get air time. Not really my bag. Over produced to hide a poor vocal performance, and the songwriting seems to become progressively more low-effort stadium rock towards the end. Stinks of trying to wrap up an album because you've already written the money-makers. Generous 2.

U2 have a lot to answer for. Soulless arena rock for chartered accountants. Stopped after 4 songs and put on Spirit of Eden 😡.

You can boil this record down to three or four things: Two hit singles A bunch of U2 impersonations A couple Beatles impersonations And the dumbest lyric your ever heard: “I’ve got soul, but I’m not a soldier…” I don’t know about you, but when I think about people who have soul, soldiers are the first people that come to mind…you know how they’re always following and not questioning orders…very soulful. Also, bold choice to include a song with the refrain “It’s Indie Rock and Roll for me” on your MAJOR LABEL DEBUT. Maybe it’s making fun of indie purists like myself (which I doubt, this band is too dumb for that), but the lyrics are too vague and devoid of any real meaning to actually tell what the song is about. This is “indie rock” for people who couldn’t tell you if “Matador Records” was a record label or just another way of saying “Bullfighting Statistics”.

Womp womp

5 Stars for a perfect run of 5 opening songs. Hot take but literally only Thriller by MJ has better singles than this album, and even then it's close. This isn't even my favourite Killers album either.

Honestly in my top 5 albums of all time. Andy you're a star and All these things that I have done are stand outs on the re-listen.

Immense

9.4

MMFFF YEAHHH an indie essential. Just good vibes. Realistically more of a 4 for maybe being a bit too samey, but an album I’ve enjoyed far too much in my real life to rate it as such.

Top 5 album of the 2000. A perfect masterpiece with no flaws. All songs are good. Its was something diferent when it came out and still holds up very well

🚨We are on 24-hour Killers lockdown🚨 Definitely not a perfect album, but I did very much imprint on it when I was 15/16 so I forgive all its flaws.

Neon guitar synth-rock with Vegas ambition. Every song sounded like it wanted to headline Glastonbury.

Great album!!!!

4.5 stars

10/10

arte, cineima, e musica 2. este album moldou minha infância e minha fase adulta. eu te amo the killers

One of the best indie album from the heyday.

Favorite Songs: Jenny was a friend of mine, Mr. Brightside, Smile Like you mean it, all these things that I have done I have heard this album many times before and do really like the killers.

One of the best first halves in music. Jesus what a fucking run. The 2nd half is almost as good but it doesn't really have a hit and there's a couple okay songs. But this is still a 5 star record because the highs are insanely high and I like the drumming

The hype this album gets is well-deserved. Solid 5 Stars.

Of course it’s a 5. Hell, it could be a 10. I know how much acclaim this album has, even if I’ve never heard it in full before today. It’s impossible to have not heard “Mr. Brightside” at any point if you’re at least 20 years old, and if you’re really into Weird Al, it’s probably nigh impossible to have not at least heard the chorus of “Somebody Told Me”, though if you only know that snippet, you’re missing out. Those two tracks are the all-timer monster hits, and the rest of the album… surprisingly enough, a bit more varied than I would’ve thought. I’m really impressed by the slight blend of the garage rock style the early 2000s made famous with this sort of updated take on Talking Heads-era new wave / post-punk, especially in the synth work that makes a lot of this album pop. It’s easy to hear the two main hits & conclude that these guys were just another 2000s indie rock band with a garage lean that rode the wave, but that severely undermines just how damn good this all is. It is certainly one of those albums where the music speaks for itself, so I’m not sure I can add anything meaningfully new to the sea of opinions over the last 21 years that someone else hasn’t already written (or will soon write) some 1,000 words on, but I can try to add some quick, scattered opinions. “Jenny Was a Friend of Mine” is obviously a perfect tonesetter & a great introduction to the band, but it does feel like it might set up expectations for more of a concept album, even if that thought is washed away immediately by “Mr. Brightside”. “All These Things That I’ve Done” is a little preachy, but I think it’s fine. Brandon Flowers’ vocals are great throughout this thing, even if I do wish he had a little more of an emotional lift on a few tracks – just ever so slightly monotone at points, you know? “Believe Me Natalie” is super fun, & it feels slightly ahead of pace for 2004, feeling like a slight foreshadowing of the synth-infused pop of the late 2000s. “Everything Will Be Alright” is just a little long for what it is, but I think the atmosphere works really well as a closing track. I think “Glamorous Indie Rock & Roll” would fit perfectly between “Andy, You’re a Star” & “On Top” if it were naturally in the album. I do wish there was just a little more variety in the soundscape; it's a breezy 45 minutes for sure, but it does blend together just a little bit after the high of listening has worn down. That's not a bad thing to my ears, it's just a testament to how "in the moment" this album can make a listener feel. And yeah, I think that’s all I really need to get out into the world. It’s a stellar album, and if you somehow haven’t heard it, just do it; it’s one of the most satisfying debut records of the decade, an instant rock classic, and a great 45 minutes where if you let yourself just rock the fuck out, you’ll never have a bad time. The only way you can hate this is if you have some deep-seated regret about the early 2000s & this album acts as some painful reminder of it. I would’ve been 4 when this dropped, so unless I tripped & fell in a Walmart while Mr. Brightside was playing on the speakers & forgot, I have nothing to link a bad memory to. This shit rules, man. It’s an easy 5, if not a 10. Banger after banger after banger, simple as that.