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Neek'd: The Killers

get down with my bad self
1The Killers
Hot Fuss

4.2/5
The mix of glossy production and darker songwriting held up far better than the rest of their discography, as even some of the filler tracks from this hold up among the hits. Still, there's a definite middle slump from "On Top" to "Believe Me Natalie" that can make it difficult to resist the skip-button. Regardless of some low points, this is a rock-solid work of neon-drenched alt-rock for the masses, with some of the best-aged hits from their era.

S: “All These Things That I’ve Done”
A: “Jenny Was a Friend” “Mr. Brightside” “Midnight Show”
B: “Smile Like You Mean It” “Somebody Told Me” Andy, You’re a Star” “Everything Will Be Alright”
C: “On Top” “Change Your Mind” “Believe Me, Natalie”
D:
F:
2The Killers
Sam's Town

3.8/5
It's easy to see why this is some fans' favorite, as Flowers operates at his most bombastic and ostentatious here. The bigger the better is certainly a good motto for the Killers, but some tracks (especially "My List") nearly drown in their wild river of cheese. The songs here are at their best when anchored by a helping of muscle ("Uncle Johnny") or unhinged mania ("Bones"), and the record overall takes major influence from Springsteen and The Beatles, to mixed effect. While this is one of their least consistent offerings, it features their crowning achievement "When You Were Young," which is the main reason why this ended up at #2.

S: “When You Were Young”
A:
B: “Sam’s Town” “Ready My Mind” “Uncle Johnny” “Bones” “Bling (Confessions of a King)”
C: “For Reasons Unknown” “The River Is Wild” “Exitlude”
D: “My List”
F:
3The Killers
Sawdust

3.7/5
An underappreciated collection of relics from their first two records, this album rapid-fires an opening trio of tracks among their absolute best work. Past this, there should be a few gems for fans of every side of the Killers (the surging rockers "Move Away" and "Daddy's Eyes" pique my interest especially). It holds together better together than one would expect, but its length counters the charm of its eclectism, turning it into more of an impressive curiosity than a working album. Stick with your favorites, and probably never give the rest a listen again as nice as it can be.

S:
A: “Tranqulize” “Shadowplay” “All the Pretty Faces” “Move Away”
B: “Sweet Talk” “Under the Gun” “Daddy’s Eyes” “Ruby Don’t Take Your Love to Town” “Show You How”
C: “Where the White Boys Dance” “Glamorous Indie Rock & Roll” “Sam’s Town (Live)” “Romeo and Juliet” “Mr. Brightside (Jacques lu Cont Remix)”
D: “Leave the Bourbon on the Shelf” “Who Let You Go?” “The Ballad of Michael Valentine”
F:
4The Killers
Day & Age

3.6/5
This one often gets the short end of the stick compared to the rest of their discog, which is mostly deserved thanks to some unflattering singles and a sagging second-act. I simply can't ignore the confidence at display from these bookends ("Losing Touch" is a blast to the face from all sides of The Killers' discography, switching genres at breakneck speed that you can't help get lost in the fun, and "Goodnight, Travel Well" is just the best closer they've ever put to tape), which do enough heavy-lifting for me to be positive about this one overall. Thanks to a plethora of alternately fun and tepid dance-rock, this is another choice-cuts offering, but one that I can't say I'm ashamed to have bought in high-school.

S:
A: “Goodnight, Travel Well”
B: “Losing Touch” “I Can’t Stay” “The World We Live In” “Joy Ride”
C: “Human” “Spaceman” “A Dustland Fairy Tale” “This Is Your Life”
D: “Neon Tiger”
F:
5The Killers
Imploding the Mirage

3.4/5
I can't say I was totally won over by The Killers' latest output. On one had it was much more consistent and energetic than their prior offerings, but at the same time it lacked a serious standout track or two, mostly settling for being a poppier version of The War on Drugs. Which, to be fair, largely worked better than you'd expect. This is a fine album, but in order to really make ripples, they're gonna have to make a strong point for why audiences should listen to The Killers these days. They came close before, but on this one they seem more lost on that right path.

S:
A:
B: “My Own Soul’s Warning” “Blowback “ My God”
C: “Caution” “Lightning Fields” “Fire in Bone” “Running Towards a Place”
D: “Dying Breed” “When the Dreams Run Dry” “Imploding the Mirage”
F:
6The Killers
Wonderful Wonderful

3.2/5
When I said they came close to giving audiences a strong case for relevancy, I meant this record. While it's flawed yes, tracks like "The Man" proved competent at fused their Springsteen sensibilities with enough of a dance-pop edge to give them a chance on the airwaves. And, to be honest, for all of its whack songwriting choices and cringe-worthy lyrics ("You see what I mean?/I'm USDA-certified lean"), they were pushing their sound into new directions after the uninspired running in place of before. I'm not calling it a success, but I did find it more enjoyable than most. Also, that opener is the best track from their late-era.

S:
A: “Wonderful, Wonderful”
B: “The Man”
C: “Rut” “Run for Cover” “Tyson v Douglas” “The Calling”
D: “Life to Come” “Some Kind of Love”
F: “Out of My Mind” “Have All the Songs Been Written?”
7The Killers
Battle Born

3.0/5
Again, I'll play Devil's Advocate here. This is their weakest album, sure. There's some downright embarrassing tracks here (I'm looking at you t/t). But, even as their least consistent effort, it still has a few rock-solid tracks that I can enjoy without a hint of shame. I don't know what I can say to change anyone's mind that totally cast this one aside, but it's a hard album to defend, but all I can say is that there's a huge divide in quality between the start and end of this album. If they were all as strong as that opener, this would've been among their best. But alas, this was the Killers at their most content and least inspired.

S:
A:
B: “Flesh and Bone” “The Way It Was” “A Matter of Time”
C: “Runaways” “Miss Atomic Bomb” “The Rising Tide” “From Here on Out”
D: “Here With Me” “Deadlines and Commitments” “Be Still”
F: “ Heart of a Girl” “Battle Born”
8 The Killers
Hot Fuzz

Neek's Killers Top 10

1. "When You Were Young" (ST)
2. "All These Things That I've Done" (HF)
3. "Mr. Brightside" (HF)
4. "Goodnight, Travel Well" (D&A)
5. "Midnight Show" (HF)
6. "Shadowplay" (Sd)
7. "Jenny Was a Friend" (HF)
8. "Wonderful, Wonderful" (WW)
9. "All the Pretty Faces" (Sd)
10. "Tranqulize" (Sd)
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