What a great album. Sam's Town sucks you in and before you know it, you've heard the whole thing. These are 13 strong tracks. Considering how firmly rooted The Killers are in today's rock scene, it's hard to believe that this is only their second album.
The title track feels like four styles of music piled on top of each other. Halfway through, the heavy drums fade out and lead singer Brandon Flowers asks soulfully, "Well, have you ever seen the light?" You can almost see the clouds parting above. A baby brother is born on the fourth of July, a grandmother dies and the protagonist wants someone to take him home -- it's a medley of random scenes from life. "I took a shuttle on a shockwave ride / where people on the pen pulled the trigger for accolades." These lines cut deep in a minor key.
There are two very strange, short tracks that frame the album. The first says, "We hope you enjoy your stay," and the second says, "We hope you enjoyed your stay." It's strange to think of this as some kind of a live performance. On the one hand it's cheesy, but on the other, it resonates because it's a direct appeal from the musician to the listener. This album is more direct and less whiny than their first, Hot Fuss. Where Hot Fuss failed with its prep-school pop monotony, Sam's Town rebounds with tunes that are more aggressive and easier on the ears.
"For Reasons Unknown" is a bit repetitive, but the subtle changes between refrains are worth it. The story is a love that fell apart, a guy who got older and lost the spark he used to have. "And my lips, they don't kiss, they don't kiss the way they uuused to!" Flowers cries up to a high note at the end. When he speaks of destiny and time, the music and the lyrics are appropriately saddening.
"Read My Mind" becomes more depressing towards its close, but the lyrics gain strength. The guy wants the girl to read his mind, says he can't shine without her and remembers a subtle kiss. It's never clear if he succeeds, but one of the appeals of this band is that it leaves you somewhat wanting and unresolved.
"Bones" is unique with its brief opening choral arrangement. The church tones move into electronic piano which then shifts into the clear, fast vocals reminiscent of Hot Fuss's "Midnight Show." "Don't you want to come with me?" Flowers asks. "Don't you want to feel my skin / on your skin?" How can you refuse? There are also appearances by angels, ghosts, dirt and thunder. It's a primal feel.
The band's tone is more bitter in "This River Is Wild." They sing about the long way down to the bottom and failed attempts to do the right thing. But it's still nice to hear "Leaves are falling down on the beautiful ground."
"Why Do I Keep Counting" has a weird opening with its wispy vocals, backup singers and odd electric piano. "Will I live to have some children?" the lyrics despair. You can't help but cringe when the backup singers chime, "Chiiiil-dren!" The beat picks up into dozens of reiterations of "help me get down!" It's a grasp for the earth below from a guy who's high up and lost in the swirls of life. He's fighting against time. Who can't relate to "the days just slip and slide?"
The melodies in this album are so striking that it's easy to gloss over the words. It's possible to listen to the album ten times through without absorbing all of the lyrics. But many of this band's lyrics are nonsensical, anyway. So, what have we learned from Sam's Town? We get older, we break up and we lose friends. Life is just as sad, so the lyrics are no happier than Hot Fuss. Yet distant lights of hope, or maybe Vegas, remain, and it's better to have loved and lost.
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