Hot Fuss
by The Killers
  • Record Label: Island
  • Release Date: Jun 15, 2004
User Score
8.6

Universal acclaim- based on 371 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 330 out of 371
  2. Mixed: 19 out of 371
  3. Negative: 22 out of 371

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  1. jackm
    Feb 3, 2005
    3
    Nearly good enough songs. There is something lacking though that just doesn't push the sound far enough into the field of greatness. Good to Air-Synth to though...
  2. claytonz
    Jun 15, 2004
    2
    another indie shit band
  3. bolant
    Jun 20, 2004
    0
    this is awful
  4. paulc
    Jul 8, 2004
    0
    The cd sounds totally contrived and pre-arranged and sounds like the band is more concerned with image and style than artistry. It's filled with radio-friendly cliches and sounds completely hollow, leaving the listener with feelings of guilt for wasting time on this.
  5. CraigA
    Feb 9, 2005
    2
    The Killers and in particular Brandon Flowers have no idea about light and dark. They have attempted to mimic a album of 80's greatest hits and created a monotonous 80's cliche`. To compare them to any band of the eighties is an insult to that era.
  6. ScottT
    Apr 3, 2005
    2
    Brings nothing new to the music table- just rides off the 'bring back the 80s' fad. If you enjoy the sound but prefer not to be listening to derivative, shallow, flavor-of-the-day music- try depeche mode, the cure, tears for fears, duran duran, modern english, talking heads, etc. This is nothing but cheap pop and 'killer' marketing.
  7. mikez
    Jun 15, 2004
    0
    gibberish for toddlers.
  8. stanu
    Sep 12, 2004
    0
    Over-produced, unoriginal, style-over-substance crap. The rhythm section is actually pretty tight, I have seen them live. But the vocals are god-awful, the keys are unneccesary, and the guitar is just, well, there. But as bad as the CD is, the live show is worse...Brandon Flowers primping and preening while belting out pseudo-brit 80's shite is simply more than I can stomach.
  9. RonG
    Nov 3, 2005
    1
    God how dreary. One dimensional rhythms, irritating choruses and use of synths I could go on... Don't believe the inexplicable popularity
  10. TylerD
    Jan 18, 2005
    2
    This is a pop album. whoever thinks that this is rock...psshh. and don't even try to compare them to the rapture! This band is a sloppy rehash of good indie rock. Are they indie? Are they pop? I don't think even they know! And the synth...so out of place. This is not synth rock, just because they throw some little ditties in the middle of their songs.
  11. VladA
    Apr 5, 2005
    3
    Brandon Flowers is quite possibly the worst vocalist ever. He's tryin to crossbreed Julian Casablancas and Paul Banks and comes off as a drag queen. What an artifically crappy band in general. Somebody told me that you had an that sounded like someone else's album...hint hint...
  12. mikeb
    Jun 15, 2004
    0
    total talentless sham.
  13. ZachL
    Apr 27, 2005
    1
    this is exactly the band that record companies want you to hear. they have catchy tunes and a good image. and these are the bands that suck beyond belief. never say this band is like the cure, robert smith was an original. he wasn't a rip off of every band that came before him. if you want a band to listen to that doesn't sound like everything else, just listen to something that this is exactly the band that record companies want you to hear. they have catchy tunes and a good image. and these are the bands that suck beyond belief. never say this band is like the cure, robert smith was an original. he wasn't a rip off of every band that came before him. if you want a band to listen to that doesn't sound like everything else, just listen to something that isn't on fuse tv.… Expand
  14. jameshawer
    Aug 26, 2016
    2
    The Killers are a pale and lurid copy of everything good that came out of the early '00s. They try to go for the Interpol/Strokes/Arctic Monkeys sound and fall flat on their faces. The songs are boring and all sound the same, including Mr Brightside, which is not only the most overplayed trash I've ever heard, but also has nothing exciting or likeable about it. This is an album of a bandThe Killers are a pale and lurid copy of everything good that came out of the early '00s. They try to go for the Interpol/Strokes/Arctic Monkeys sound and fall flat on their faces. The songs are boring and all sound the same, including Mr Brightside, which is not only the most overplayed trash I've ever heard, but also has nothing exciting or likeable about it. This is an album of a band that is scared of originality and lacks any kind of talent.… Expand
  15. Szeety
    Apr 2, 2017
    3
    I really enjoy their hit songs like Mr. Brightside, but frankly, the rest of the album is quite disappointing and not as musical and catchy as i wished it was.

Awards & Rankings

8
#8 Most Discussed Album of 2004
8
#8 Most Shared Album of 2004

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
66

Generally favorable reviews - based on 20 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 20
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 20
  3. Negative: 0 out of 20
  1. The A.V. Club
    60
    Most of Hot Fuss slides by without creating much of a stir, but it's got too many memorable moments to be written off.
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  2. Blender
    80
    They're not the first--or even the fifteenth--recent band to draw on that era [of the 1980s], but they're among the most assured. [#27, p.138]
  3. PopMatters
    50
    What's most shocking about Hot Fuss, though, is how, after five sensational songs, the rest of the album completely implodes, as the other six tracks get weighed down by too much production, a lack of memorable hooks, and some inexplicable musical touches that may have sounded clever in the studio, but wind up sounding disastrous on the CD.
    Read full review
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