Style: alt rock, indie, post-punk revival, new wave
Label: Island
Year: 2006
Home: Las Vegas
Members: Brandon Flowers ~ lead vocals/keyboards/bass
Dave Keuning ~ guitar/backing vocals
Mark Stoermer ~ bass/guitar/backing vocals
Ronnie Vannucci ~ drums/percussion
Additional: Adrina Hanson, Maryam Haddad, Tristan Moyer ~ strings
Tommy Marth, Neeraj Khajanchi ~ horns
Corlene Byrd, Louis XIV ~ backing vocals
Besides having brought into the studio my musical icon Lou Reed to record guest vocals on a later album ("Tranquilize"), which is always bonus points in my book, while other bands choose whatever hip-hop artist is the most popular, I've loved these guys since I first heard this album. But, it's a hard band to classify. For me they're reminiscent of goth but on the other hand are could have been on the Velvet Goldmine Soundtrack, though goth & glam are far from distant cousins. A lot of the attraction has to do with the lyrics. They're mysterious & reflective & even erotic & clearly shine of a Reed-Bowie influence with a bit of R.E.M. You're pretty sure you understand the song but you're also pretty sure you don't. Such as in 'When You Were Young' when it's sung: "I said he doesn't look a thing like Jesus/but he talks like a gentleman/when you imagined/when you were young". You're also pretty sure you're singing along without realizing it. This is not a heavy band & is clearly on the punk end of the rock spectrum, which I tend to shy away from, but this is a band I can't help but always turn an ear to. Though, part of it is the fact that they copy the British end of the punk spectrum, i.e. Morrissey, The Smiths, The Cure & The Psychedelic Furs which is so different than it's American Green Day counterpart I don't even think of that music as punk. & I love all those bands. This may not be a heavy metal or hard rock band, but they are so good & shine their individuality so much how can I not stretch the rock spectrum to review them here, particularly since this is such a great album?
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