- “Jenny Was a Friend of Mine”
From its first moment, the buzzing and beeping of this track tells the listener exactly what to expect from Hot Fuss: pure manic, dance-worthy tracks. Interestingly, though, this track is nearly the darkest the album gets– dipping the later tracks’ free and loose abuse of synth in She Wants Revenge-esque tones. This track unfolds with a sinister, driving rhythm and undeniable narrative tension. From “a fight on the promenade in the rain” to a lover who “couldn’t scream while I held her close,” it tells the story of a relationship gone wrong, with the narrator’s obsessive, almost possessive behavior surfacing in Flowers’ lyrics. The sharp bassline and sci-fi synths give the song an eerie atmosphere, amplifying the tension laced through each pleading line. The chorus’ repeated, almost accusatory delivery of “so come on, oh come on, oh come on” builds an intense, nearly pleading yet still dry atmosphere that hooks the listener immediately. This song stands out as one of the more thematically intense moments on Hot Fuss, capturing the blurry line between love and obsession and the band’s ability to create as much tension as they release in later tracks.
2. “Mr. Brightside”
A song everyone knows every lyric to, and for good reason. There may be no pop opening more compelling than this track’s slowly building monologue, filling in the details of the romantic betrayal which drives its frantic release. As Flowers describes more of the transgression, the listener can only lean in closer to catch the swell of the pulsing bassline and sweeping synths that swirl urgently around this track, perfectly complementing anxious vocals.This song somehow does what no other breakup song before or after could– making being cheated on almost sound like a victory lap. The lyrics are deep in horror, nearly self-deprecating with their insistence to keep describing the event, but delivered with such confidence and backed with such a driving instrumental that this has become a song for anywhere from crying over your ex to senior prom and weddings. Catchy hooks, both lyrical and instrumental, and infectious rhythm make “Mr. Brightside” a timeless anthem and it’s no wonder it remains one of the band’s most iconic tracks. However, this track as number two sets the bar so high that the rest of the album is never really given a chance to catch up.
3. “Smile Like You Mean It”
This track brings a smooth, melancholic balance to the album’s opening two punches. Its opening buildup already setting it apart, a slower pace and Flowers’ carried-out groans give this track a nearly lethargic feel. While the lyrics wrestle with the disillusionment of adulthood and the loss of youthful innocence, the instrumental’s layered guitars and a dreamy quality allows Flowers to bloom into his defeated and nearly weepy performance. This track manages to sound both youthful and bone tired in melancholy, grabbing desperately to a childhood slowly slipping away, while knowing it’s been gone for a good long time. Flowers’ dry delivery hardly breaks until the end of the track, where he falls into a pile of “Oh no”s that everyone has felt at least once when reminiscing. This track is very nearly domestic for The Killers– common panic-inducing signs of growing up– “someone is playing a game (in the house that I grew up in)/And someone will drive her around down the same streets that I did” are given center stage here, giving everyone who is no longer a kid but perhaps not yet settled in their adulthood an anthem. It’s not the propulsive motion of the track before it, but this track’s urging to “smile like you mean it” will still get listeners to the dance floor, though maybe more out of fear of regret if they don’t.
4. “Somebody Told Me”
Following the lead of the last two tracks, this song brings its punchy guitar riffs and rapid-fire delivery, yet still brings back some of the tension-heavy frantic nature of the first. “Somebody Told Me” is the album’s definitive high-energy offering, its irresistible hooks and an unmistakable sense of youthful rebellion and heartbreak coloring the track. Something about this one feels more juvenile than the last tracks– maybe the ambiguously queer boyfriend line the whole song seems to hinge on, but even so, its embodiment of paranoia, confusion, betrayal and endless chase, still feels like a release. Flowers lingers in the past with biting lyrics for exes, per usual, but this track also reads like a pursuit of a new flame, and though it may not be as propulsive as “Mr. Brightside,” it’s easy to understand why this warping guitar and bouncy drums would be popular in a crowd of young adults hoping to get over an old flame in a club. Arguably a very cookie cutter moment on the album, this song still manages to hold a genuine nature and not be written over, self-aware enough to know when the listener might be about to look away. Though there’s no mistaking that this track—like much of the album—is undeniably fun, it also plays heavily into the same themes of uncertainty and jealousy as the previous songs, giving it some motivation. The mix of lightheartedness and angst is a good showcase of The Killers’ ability to make moaning about old lovers feel propulsive and dance-inspiring.
5. “All These Things That I’ve Done”
Surprising from its first moment, this track is shockingly quiet where it lands on the album. Coming off “Somebody Told Me,” this isolated vocal, buried lower in the mix– much less a piano and an organ– is a sucker punch. Slightly confusing, but maybe not all bad, this song definitely starts to sound like it might have been meant for another album, but The Killers are here to remind us they can do an anthem for the daytime too. Reminiscent of later work, this track feels distinctly oldies-inspired, heavy guitar and empty drums forming this track’s foundation rather than in-your-face synth, layering gospel backing vocals, and even a clapped beat. Other than Flowers’ consistent vocal effect, this track could absolutely stand next to and be confused with one by U2. Flowers’ iconic (and stupid) repetition of “I got soul, but I’m not a soldier” becomes a rallying cry, even as this song confronts themes of self-doubt and personal failure paired with, per usual, an anthem with a streak of anxious self-loathing, which may be the finest through line for Hot Fuss. Overall, the track’s towering crescendo and sweeping arrangement give it a proper anthemic sense of grandiosity, but can also feel overblown, especially considering how much of the album’s energy was established in earlier tracks. Similarly, as the place on the album where The Killers ask the listener to pause all the dancing for a second, five minutes is a while to expect, and this track might signal the emotional peak where this album’s forward momentum begins to stall.
6. “Andy, You’re a Star”
“Andy, You’re a Star” feels like the kind of track that could easily have been drowned out in the presence of prior anthems on the album which caught pop-culture praise, but subtly pulls itself apart from Hot Fuss’ occasional monotony with an extra bite to Flowers’ sardonic delivery and slow, creeping instrumental. It’s impossible to miss how hollow this track presents against the rest on the album, and its callbacks almost pull from post punk rather than mainstream rock dynamics. The stalling guitar and lower, atmospheric synth leave this track feeling intelligent and self-aware. Flowers’ voice here is full of a knowing empathy—he’s talking to Andy as both a spectator and a participant, watching someone spiral into a stardom that is now more a cage than a dream. The repetition of “Andy, you’re a star” initially feels like a chorus of celebration, but as the track progresses, it seems to become more and more sour, as though this fame isn’t everything it’s cracked up to be. By the time the track ends, you’re left with a taste that’s a little too sweet, and a little too empty, much like the very thing it’s critiquing. Here, Hot Fuss turns down the pulsing club beats to remind us that reality has to leak in sometimes, even in the 2000s party shuffle.
7. “On Top”
With its driving rhythm and electrifying chorus, “On Top” feels like an attempt to revive the album’s energy, but the lyrics never quite rise to match the force of the instrumental. The track’s faster pace and sharp guitar lines give it a sense of momentum, but it’s ultimately one of the more forgettable moments on the album. Despite being fun in its own right, a “shimmy and a shake” snuck in here, The Killers’ electronic focus getting a little experimental and beeping there, this track lacks the emotional propulsion which makes early anthems off the album stick out and stay on the mind. Fun is really as big as this track gets– not a skip, but nothing that feels especially remarkable at this point, bar maybe the guitar solo, which doesn’t last as long as it should. Overall, “On Top” struggles to recapture the magic that began Hot Fuss so strongly.
8. “Change Your Mind”
The Killers almost start to sound like a different band here– more out of a garage and less into a nightclub. Despite a busy instrumental at points, this track feels gentle in the face of lack of reigning synth. Flowers’ tone feels less like his own here as well— his sardonic bite nearly resigned, arguably a better feature of the track as he begs to “change your mind,” but it leaves him without the silver bullet that usually sets him apart. This track seems to lack The Killers’ trademark stamp, sounding more like a demo for any one of their peers in the dance-rock wave of the mid-2000s. Halfway through the song, a busy, weepy instrumental allows “Change Your Mind” to get back on its feet and argue for importance on the album, and nearly succeeds. Yet, this dynamically interesting section with true emotion and yearning leaking back into Flowers’ vocals is not long enough, and definitely not long enough to save this track from dragging behind the album’s propulsive intro. It’s enough to start wondering, at this point, why tracks weren’t distributed differently to prevent the album’s slow descent into gentler tracks sounding boring in the face of earlier energy.
9. “Believe Me Natalie”
Suffering once again from placement on the album, “Believe Me Natalie” manages to cruise above the current and differentiate itself. This track features some of the most audibly interesting lyrics on the album, with repetition of “natalie” and “this is” flowing smoothly into each other, Flowers’ vocals almost turning into a staccato dynamic to give the sparse, eighties-inspired instrumental some spine. The track hardly takes the loneliness and isolation which drove “Mr. Brightside” to the same levels, but it holds the dark emotions competently, and offers release in a satisfying, occasionally almost gothic production, at least until horns come in. Reaching its peak somewhere near the three-fourths point, this track doesn’t beg to be cemented in time like some of the prior, but it does allow the listener to dance again.
10. “Midnight Show”
As showbiz as Hot Fuss gets, “Midnight Show” brings back some of the album’s darker, more brooding energy, but by now, it feels a little too familiar. This track almost feels like a parody of a Killers song, as Flowers’ croons of wanting become overbearing, and his previously smart lyrics become stripped of all subtlety. If The Killers had never made another song, this track might have come off as a lazy, somewhat annoying song, but instead, it comes off as a lazy, annoying song come up with to fill space by artists more intelligent than this, which is far worse. “Midnight show” is filler, quite possibly at best.
11. “Everything Will Be Alright”
A slower, heavier track, the final stand of Hot Fuss sounds nearly nothing like anything previously heard on the album. It’s insistence that “Everything will be alright” could be hollow and optimistic, but I find it more fun as a foreboding sneer, which is also why this track loses some of it’s originality when a jangly rhythm takes it over. What could be a meta warning against losing oneself in the music starts to feel like an attempt to wrap up the album with a bow, but the track still manages to retain some fierceness, with spacey production and echoing bass. Ending an album which starts so propulsively with the slowest, furthest-away track is a choice that most definitely leaves the listener with lasting questions about intention. Though this track might not be everyone’s cup of tea, it’s not as forgettable as some tracks nearing the end, and I found myself fine with swaying away Hot Fuss.
