Arguably one of the best and most well-known albums of the 21st century, Hot Fuss catapulted The Killers to musical stardom. Featuring hits like ‘Smile Like You Mean It’, ‘Somebody Told Me’ and the iconic ‘Mr Brightside’, Hot Fuss will always be remembered as a genre-defining record – redefining the indie rock scene in a way that was probably never envisaged at the time.
The energetic ‘Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine’ immediately gives this album a different feel to others that came out at the time – which is a reason this record had the aforementioned success it did. After this early knockdown, the punches keep on coming with a series of infamous singles, such as ‘Mr Brightside’, that take this album to another level.
After such an incredible first half, featuring the majority of their released singles from the record, it’s hardly a surprise that Hot Fuss does suffer a slight drop in quality – albeit an almost negligible one. Songs such as the unique ‘On Top’ and the slow-building ‘Glamorous Indie Rock and Roll’ more than hold their own amongst the number one singles. ‘Under The Gun’ is a fittingly high quality end to their breakthrough album.
The biggest thing about the album was the hype it created on both sides of the Atlantic. This is probably due to the originality and diversity of the music; Hot Fuss was very different to anything the public had heard before. The sheer popularity of the record resulted in countless accolades and awards, for example their debut album stayed in the UK Charts for an incredible 179 weeks – a ridiculous feat for such an original and different band from America. This culminated in five Grammy Nominations, a spectacular rise for the four-piece band.
The Killers, along with The Arctic Monkeys, added fuel to the indie-rock fire in the early ‘noughties’ – heading the enormous wave of similar bands such as The Kooks, Kings of Leon, Kaiser Chiefs, Razorlight, and so on into mainstream musical outlets and the public eye. This is why Hot Fuss will always be remembered as a defining record in music history.
Hot Fuss was released on June 7 2004 via Vertigo Records.
