Hot Fuss

''Hot Fuss'' is the debut studio album by American rock band the Killers, released on June 7, 2004, in the United Kingdom and on June 15, 2004, in the United States by Island Records. The album's music is mostly influenced by new wave and post-punk. ''Hot Fuss'' spawned four critically and commercially successful singles: " Mr. Brightside", " Somebody Told Me", "All These Things That I've Done" and " Smile Like You Mean It".

The album reached number seven on the ''Billboard'' 200 and number one on the UK Albums Chart. , ''Hot Fuss'' had sold more than seven million copies worldwide, including more than three million in the United States and more than two million in the United Kingdom. It has also been certified platinum or multi-platinum in Australia, Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand. The album and its first three singles went on to garner five Grammy Award nominations at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards in 2005.

Background

The album was recorded throughout 2003 with Jeff Saltzman in Berkeley, California, except for "Everything Will Be Alright", which was recorded by Corlene Byrd in guitarist Dave Keuning's apartment. Many of the tracks were originally recorded as demos, which the band decided to keep for their spontaneity. The album was mixed by Mark Needham at Cornerstone Studios in Los Angeles and Alan Moulder at Eden Studios in London. In 2012, Brandon Flowers told ''NME'' that he felt "depressed" after hearing the Strokes' album ''Is This It''. "That record just sounded so perfect", he said. "We threw away everything e were working onand the only song that made the cut and remained was 'Mr. Brightside.'"

The songs "Midnight Show" and " Jenny Was a Friend of Mine" are two parts of the so-called "Murder Trilogy", detailing the fictional story of a woman who her jealous boyfriend murders. The first part, "Leave the Bourbon on the Shelf", appears on the band's B-sides and rarities compilation, ''Sawdust''.

Production

The album heavily features a vocal effect called Echo Farm on Flowers' voice. In 2014, Needham recounted, "There were three of us involved in the production company on that record: Braden Merrick, Jeff Saltzman and myself. Jeff and I had been partners for a few years. He was an entertainment attorney and was shopping stuff, but he actually really wanted to be a producer as well. We set Jeff up with a studio, got him started in recording and since he’s a smart guy, he picked it up really quick. At that time, Echo Farm had just come out, and that was really the only vocal effect he had. If you open up Echo Farm, the first setting that comes up is the default setting, which overdrives the vocal a bit and sets an 84 ms delay. That was basically what he put on everything and it sort of became the default vocal tone on the whole record, plus it worked really great, so we kept it. It changes a little bit on certain things, but it was a fairly consistent effect through the whole record."

Artwork

The album cover was photographed by Matthias Clamer in 2000, in the southern region of the suburbs of Beijing, China. The characters on top of each building ("建", "材", "开", and "发") translate to "construction material development".

Release and reception

''Hot Fuss'' received generally positive reviews from critics. On Metacritic, the album has a weighted average score of 66 out of 100 based on 20 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

''Hot Fuss'' was released on June 7, 2004, in the United Kingdom and on June 15, 2004, in the United States. In 2005, it was reissued as a box of eleven seven-inch vinyl discs, with an album track on each A-side and non-album tracks on the B-sides."Killers Box Up 'Hot Fuss' Singles"
. ''Billboard''. Published October 18, 2005. The album reached number seven on the US ''Billboard'' 200. It was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on December 1, 2005, and as of January 2017, it had sold 3.75 million copies in the United States.

''Hot Fuss'' topped the UK Albums Chart for two consecutive weeks in January 2005. It was the 26th bestselling album of the 2000s decade in the United Kingdom, and is listed among the top 40 longest-charting albums in the history of the UK Albums Chart, with 254 weeks. On July 22, 2013, the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) certified the album septuple platinum; by August 2020, it had sold 2,335,495 copies in the UK. In 2022 the album was named as the 20th most successful debut album in UK chart history. The album has also been certified platinum or multi-platinum in Australia, Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand. ''Hot Fuss'' had sold over seven million copies worldwide as of December 2012.

''Rolling Stone'' ranked ''Hot Fuss'' 43rd on its list of the "100 Best Albums of the Decade", and it was, at one point, listed among the ''1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die''. Gigwise readers voted it the number-one "Best Debut Album of All Time" in 2013. ''Rolling Stone'' ranked ''Hot Fuss'' the 33rd of its list of "The 100 Greatest Debut Albums of All Time".

The album has inspired numerous cover recordings, including Meg Washington's 2022 cover album of the same name.

Accolades

''Hot Fuss'' is listed among the ''1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die''.

Track listing

All tracks are produced by Jeff Saltzman and the Killers, except "Everything Will Be Alright", produced by Brandon Flowers.

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Hot Fuss''.

The Killers

* Brandon Flowers – vocals, synthesizer
* Dave Keuning – guitar
* Mark Stoermer – bass
* Ronnie Vannucci Jr. – drums

Additional musicians

* Sweet Inspirations – gospel choir

Technical

* Jeff Saltzman – production, recording
* The Killers – production
* Brandon Flowers – production
* Corlene Byrd – recording
* Dave Stedronsky – engineering assistance
* Mark Needham – engineering assistance ; mixing
* Will Brierre – engineering assistance
* Dario Dendi – engineering assistance
* Alan Moulder – mixing
* Brian "Big Bass" Gardner – mastering

Artwork

* Louis Marino – art direction
* Seth Goldfarb – cover photo
* Matt Hartman – band photography

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Century-end charts (running)

Certifications

Release history

Notes

References

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2004 debut albums
Island Records albums
The Killers albums
Vertigo Records albums