Ranking the albums of The Killers

1: Sam’s Town

How could music critics pan this album on release? It’s only until years later when people started to suggest that this may have been the most underrated album of the 00s. It’s a different beast to ‘Hot Fuss‘ for sure, but it packs a growing maturity and a commitment to a sound and ideal that flows through the package.

What we have here is an album that showcases a sound we’ll refer to as “Dirty Nevada”. You can feel the dust blowing across wide expanses of desert, the images of seedy motels and casinos that have been iconic throughout the lifetime of Las Vegas. It has a more American influence on the songs than the 80’s new wave of ‘Hot Fuss‘ and the songs have a richer and more vivid story behind them.

In comparison to the other albums, there’s nothing here that feels like filler. The ‘Enterlude‘ and ‘Exitlude‘ are essential for the album as a whole. Then the bangers just do not stop. ‘When You Were Young‘ has a chorus and breakdown that shatters the listener immediately. ‘Bling (Confessions Of A King)’ continues the ongoing wave of excellence. ‘For Reasons Unknown’, ‘Read My Mind’ – all awesome. The “slow epic build up song” established by ‘Indie Rock and Roll is Uncle Johnny‘ – a track that is just so bloody powerful it still leaves an impact on every listen. You follow that with ‘Bones‘, ‘My List‘ and probably the best song on the album: ‘This River is Wild‘ before we wind things down with ‘Why Do We Keep Counting‘. You can’t pick a bad song there.

It’s the strongest album out of the lot (well, d’uh) but it was nearly second because of the personal connection to ‘Hot Fuss‘. But for those that don’t have a personal connection to these albums – you can’t go wrong with ‘Sam’s Town‘.

What’s your favourite album The Killers have produced? Are you excited for their new album? Let us know!