You ain't never heard nothin' like this before. Well, that is, unless
you've heard the Killers' debut album, 2001's The Essential Fucked
Up Blues — the perfect, roaring, spastic introduction to
what this Auburn, Lee County, Ala., duo hopes to achieve: to fuck
things up of course. What sort of things, you ask? Traditions,
conditions, stipulations, regulations — you know, all the
barrier building, stereotype-creating and image-inventing 'tions.
The punked-up, '30s and '40s blues-inspired pair want to make
damaged, thrashing, sloppy and messed-up punk-blues that not only
blows your mind but also proves music need not follow a straight
line. And that it can survive without abiding by a set of guidelines
and predictability that listeners have come to expect.
The Killers — lead singer/guitarist Chetley "El Cheetah" Weise
and drummer J.R.R. Tokien — hope to remind us that blues, rock
and punk all sprouted from the same fertile place — a place
where rules were meant to be broken, authority questioned,
individuality and sentiment (good or evil) wholeheartedly expressed.
What results from such intentions? A caustic and chaotic sound
drenched in thunder, desperation and loads of distortion (Weise plays
his guitar through multiple amps at the highest volumes) — a
frightening approach unleashed on the world to much acclaim last year
and altered slightly for this year's Love Is a Charm of Powerful
Trouble.
This time offering acoustic ballads with a touch of gospel influence
in addition to the thrashing, nonsensical heavy numbers, the new
record proves the duo is interested in fucking things up in multiple
ways. Always honest and always overflowing with soul, the album
features a diverse set of sounds ranging from heartfelt, impassioned
and slowed-down, as on the closer "What Are They Doing in Heaven
Today?" (a cover of a tune penned by Charles Tindley), to the
blasting and banging title track that thrusts, struts and assaults
with enormous might. The screeching "She's Not Afraid of Anything
Walking" winds around gritty riffs and trashcan beats, while a cover
of Willie Dixon's grim "Weak Brain, Narrow Mind" slithers at snail's
pace and howls gravely.
Expect a meeting of crazed, erratic and extremely loud songs with
raw, heartbroken, soulful ballads. For those of you who've not heard
the Killers before, expect to blow your top. For those of you who
have, well, expect to get your top blown again and again and again.
It's wild!
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