Lead Singer Brandon Flowers was quoted saying that, Sam’s Town will be “one of the best albums in the past twenty years” in the October 2006 edition of Giant magazine. He was also quoted in Entertainment Weekly referring to Sam’s Town as “the album that keeps rock & roll afloat.”
With Flowers very impressed and happy about Sam’s Town it’s a wonder why there are so many mixed reviews about the album. On the other hand, Sam’s Town did open at #2 in the US, selling some 315,000 in its first week. It didn’t do too bad overseas either, opening in the top 3 in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and Canada.
So with all this success and for the growing number of people doubting the deservedness of the success, I must make a decision where I stand, and I believe it to be right in the middle of the two extremes.
When I listen to Sam’s Town, (the name referencing a hotel in Las Vegas, where The Killers grew up) I have many mixed thoughts. It lacks the catchiness of Hot Fuss but also lacks the creativity and limit-pushing of Hot Fuss. Sam’s Town could be on repeat and everyone would think it was the longest song ever. There really is no distinction from song to song, but at the same time, the redundancy does have its benefits. This is only because the Killers have claimed their own sound and it is actually a unique sound, so it’s quite tough to get bored with it, but it isn’t much to get excited for either.
release date: Tuesday, October 3, 2006
