Bonfire of Trust

Listen, I'll admit, I'm late as all hell, but I finally picked up The Killers' Sam's Town on Friday. I've been meaning to since, I don't know, October Third, maybe. (Yeah, who gets that joke? No one. Good.) As I've already told you, I rarely get over to FYE, but if this is where the bar is set for 2007... everyone else has problems.

Sam's Town: It's got a lot going for it. Sets the album up and wins.
Enterlude: I've said it before and I'll say it again. An intro track can make or break an album. I love them. And this has that in spades. (The highest suit. Har har I know how to play Bridge now. It's a skill.)
When You Were Young: Usually a fancy pants single is all frills and fluff to get it onto the Billboard charts. This gets on the Billboard charts anyway. Do your math.
Bling (Confession of a King): Worst track on the album. It's awesome. Do your math again.
For Reasons Unknown: It's got this quirky underbeat to it that's almost country sounding. For those of you that don't know, I like quirky.
Read My Mind: Solid, although it's kinda similar to For Reasons Unknown. Also, that little ...noise he makes at the end is just annoying. It's the third single, so look for it after Bones gets off the airwaves.
Uncle Jonny: The lyrics are semi-forgetable, but that's only because of the mind blowing instrumentals. The radical shift two thirds in is a nice switch, though.
Bones: Yeah, that is as phallic as it sounds. Come hear and let me run my bones on your bones. Rawr. Wait, music? Yeah, s'alright.
My List: If you were waiting for another All These Things That I Have Done, you've made it. The lyrics are repetitive as all hell, but that's okay because they're good.
This River Is Wild: Best. Song. The. Killers. Ever. Did.
Why Do I Keep Counting?: Round out your albums with something soft and sad. Make them miss you. Unless you're a metal band, I guess.
Exitlude: It was certainly a risky move to do a reprise of the Intro track, but these guys still pull it off. It really fills you up with nostalgia.

All in all, this is an AMAZIING album. There is not a single point where I said "This could be better." What really interests me is how little it sounds like Hot Fuss. This could be a whole new band if I didn't know better. I've always thought that the synth stuff in Hot Fuss was overdone, and while that's still there on Sam's Town, its always in the back, letting the vocals hammer everything in. Different, yes. Better? Yes.

By the by, this is part one of a Triple Header of music reviews. I snatched up Cake's Pressure Chef yesterday, and Kazoo Funk Orchestra releases Adventures in Fuzzy Felt Land on Wednsday, so expect reviews of both down the pike.