MY VIEW
Music: 'Hot Fuss' by The Killers

By Joshua Huff
Special to The Advertiser

The Verdict: 4. Definitely will stand out as one of the best debut albums of the year and probably will make many people's Top 20 list. A good album for entertaining friends or for listening on your own. THE RATINGS 5 — Outstanding: Add it to your collection now. A must-have. 4 — Great: Buy it or rent it — definitely listen to it. 3 — Good: Worth listening to despite some flaws. 2 — Fair: Unless you're a fan of the group or singer, don't bother. 1 — Poor: Save your money (and your ears).

Release: June 15, 2004

Style: Dance punk/rock

Rewind: Track No. 2, "Mr. Brightside"; and Track No. 4, "Somebody Told Me"

Skip it: Track 5, "All These Things That I've Done"

My view: A band named The Killers might instill some fear into one's heart. These fears, thankfully, can be easily thrust aside, as the only thing really intimidating about The Killers is, in fact, their name.

The Killers, hailing from Las Vegas, a city known more for its Hard Rock Cafe than its rock 'n' roll bands, recently released the debut "Hot Fuss," a great album that spotlights a band that has a very bright future.

The album starts with "Jenny Was a Friend of Mine," a largely bass guitar- and drum-driven track that will surely get the dance floors moving. The next song, "Mr. Brightside," while not an official single, has found quite a bit of play on college radio stations nationwide. While keeping a beat just a bit slower than "Jenny," the song, about what seems to be a blooming romance gone wrong, comes off as very plaintive and reflective. That can be attributed to the production of the album and the fact that The Killers seem to have musical dynamics and the usage of minor chords under control.

The fourth track, "Somebody Told Me," has gotten nationwide music television play. The song kicks off with a biting guitar line and new-wave synthesizers as well as a funky bass line and really has the effect of getting everyone, regardless of age, up to dance. "Somebody Told Me" has what might be the best chorus of any song this year (or in the past decade, for that matter): "Somebody told me/That you had a boyfriend/That looks like a girlfriend/That I had in February of last year." Honestly, this song will be in the running for best single of the year, thanks in part to its incredibly danceable backing music as well as its insanely catchy chorus.

Not all songs are that great, though. "All These Things That I've Done" sounds like nothing more than an aborted song The Strokes did, and it grows quite boring after the first few seconds. It is easy to see the band is trying to mix the tempos of the songs on the album in order to offer a release that gives the listener variety, but the band is better off performing the tracks that rock out and have more groove than the slower, slightly boring numbers on "Hot Fuss."

"Hot Fuss" may not be an entirely original album, but it does push the "dance rock" genre a considerable amount. There is something for everyone here, from the '80s-sounding keyboards interplaying with the vocals and guitars to an overall feel that will get partygoers' bodies moving and their heads bobbing. The Killers may not have reinvented the wheel, and sure, maybe all they really want to do is rock and be able to dance while doing so, but there's nothing wrong with that.

Joshua Huff is a senior at Moanalua High School.

Have a game or CD you want to review? Reach Island Life deputy editor Dave Dondoneau at ddondoneau@honoluluadvertiser.com.