10 Years On: Sam’s Town
At the height of noughties indie and sitting on the precipice of international stardom, The Killers released their second album Sam’s Town, a love letter to 70s classic rock and the boss himself Bruce Springsteen. 10 years on, and celebrating its decade long birthday on October 2nd, the album is just as good now as it was then, delivering hit after hit, and, in reality, their best album, period.
But which tracks have truly stood the test of time? We take a look at the best from Sam’s Town, from the corners of main street all the way to the bones of frontman Brandon Flowers.
When You Were Young
Channelling Springsteen esk storytelling like no other, ‘When Your Were Young’ is, maybe alongside ‘Mr Brightside’, The Killers best known track. Soaring, ambitious and stadium ready, the romantic lyricism tied with the gravity of the sound makes for a corker of a song. Capturing that feeling of invincible youth, ‘When You Were Young’ is the American boys at their most influential.
Bones
Calling to the likes of Nick Cave and his deep and ever effecting grumble, ‘Bones’ takes The Killers into the realm of 80s pop rock with an added twist. Tied with a genius video from director Tim Burton, the track is massive, powering on through a mix of scratchy guitar and amusing lyrics.
Read My Mind
The more you delve back into Sam’s Town, the more you realise that the album is full of classic tracks, and ‘Read My Mind’ is no exception. Whilst Flowers never gets to the heights of Springsteen storytelling, he gives it his best shot. Strangely poignant, and unexplainably moving, ‘Read My Mind’ showcases the power of The Killers in creating emotion from a simple 4 minute song.
Bling (Confession Of A King)
Not as well known or as mainstream as the above three choices, ‘Bling (Confession Of A King)’ takes The Killers into a different dimension that their typical stadium rock, aiming here for building prog-rock that sees Brandon warble “It ain’t hard to hope / When it shines like gold / You’ll remember me” whilst the track gallops on in the background. It might not be ‘Somebody Told Me’, but it opens the band out in new and, when it was released 10 years ago, interesting areas.
The best Killers album to date? You may disagree, but surely you can’t argue with the longevity of the tracks they delivered … all together now “he doesn’t look a thing like Jeeeeesus!”
– By Emily Harrison
