Ah, dance music and all of its wonders. Drawing people into the club scenes. Bringing two strangers together. Dance music is not something I'm particularly fond of, but sometimes it's perfectly fine to kill a few brain cells by drowning in its sugary monotony. However, things can go horribly wrong. When dance music is fused with pop/rock, results can be disastrous. Countless 'The' bands have reinforced this over the past several years, but I must admit that The Killers initially peaked my curiosity with their slightly annoying -- yet all too infectious -- breakout hit, "Somebody Told Me". It sort of wavered around in my head until I finally screamed and succumbed to this plaguing curiosity. Idiotic move? Perhaps.

Countless critics have deemed The Killers as rock'n'roll's saving grace, and that truly perplexes me. What are they seeing them I'm not? Let me make it clear that I would certainly not call The Killers and out-and-out rock band. I find their sound to be more along the lines of synthesized, lighthearted dance-pop. Lead vocalist Brandon Flowers can occasionally be fluffy and entertaining, but more often than not, he is whiny, pretentious, and boring. Listening to Hot Fuss can be painful at times because of his lack of voice 'personality' -- he is a robotic frontman, with a voice so distorted, canny, monotonous and predictable.

Often Hot Fuss seems more like one long, annoying song than an actual album. That's not to say that a few moments aren't slightly enjoyable: aforementioned first single "Somebody Told Me" pries its way into one's brain and gets their foot tapping along to the brainless rhythms. As Brandon's wails of "Breaking my back just to know your name" cover the pulsing beat, try as I might, I can't fight the urge to sing along. Or at least just bob around like a complete idiot. "Mr. Brightside", a similarly uptempo, cutesy successful hit, has a fresh synth-pop sound to it. It would be perfectly fine if not for the unbelievable redundancy of the main refrain, "It was only a kiss / how did it end up like this / it was only a kiss."

It becomes immediately clear that The Killers aren't trying to invent a new style of music. I feel that many of the songs have potential, but weren't given necessary effort to stand out and have an identity of their own. "Smile Like You Mean It", particularly, is pathetic in its execution. Not only does it do absolutely nothing to differentiate The Killers from the murky sea of 'The' bands [The Strokes in particular], its corniness isn't clever. "Save some face...you know you've only got one," Brandon drones over a whirring, repetitive buzzing beat. "All These Things That I've Done", the band's latest hit, takes the tempo down a bit. Things don't work so well, as this only further drags and plods its way through the tired path that The Killers have already ventured: Brandon's uninspired vocals truly pain me, and the pseudo-glam, electronic '80s vibe is nauseating.

A few other moments of promise appear, but I'm not seeing anything mindblowing by any means. "Andy, You're A Star" initially sounds nearly identical to its predecessors, but as the song progresses, its lulling, jukebox-vibe actually entertained me. Surprisingly, "Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine" and "On Top" are mildly intriguing with their unpredictable tempo and slightly improved vocal delivery; the former is a fan favorite, and lo and behold, Brandon's pinched whines somehow work extremely well for him here.

Was Hot Fuss what I expected it to be? In a way, it was. I knew going into this album that I wouldn't find anything incredibly innovative. Most of it's harmless, sure, but what really murders this album's potential is the fact that the majority of the album drowns in a sea of vagueness. Unlike the first two hit singles, most of these tracks aren't personified by memorable hooks -- which could be forgiven in the case of certain bands; however, the main advantage The Killers have is the sole fact that they have a potential to be consistent and catchy. Could the band's forthcoming work be a step up? Certainly. Once The Killers find a way (!) to distinguish themselves from the other garage-dance-pop-rock, they just may be my new guilty pleasure.

Recommended: No