Sam’s Town

Sam’s Town, the second album by American indie-rock group The Killers, leaves synths and vocal manipulation behind in an attempt at capturing the ostentatious showmanship of the American West.

The album name is taken from a casino in Las Vegas, the groups hometown. Interestingly, Sam’s Town Hotel and Gambling Hall sits on the corner of Flamingo Road, which would later provide the name for frontman Brandon Flowers‘ first solo album.

The record spawned four singles: the ultra-successful lead, “When You Were Young,” which was followed by “Bones,” “Read My Mind” and “For Reasons Unknown.”

Flowers considered the album as a kind of personal reflection, encapsulating “everything important that got [him] to where [he is] today.” In an interview with Giant Magazine, Flowers boldly heralded the upcoming effort as “one of the best albums in the past twenty years.”

Despite Flowers' assurances, the album was divisive on release, with many critics panning the record. One such review was a two-star rating from Rolling Stone. Despite this critical mauling at its release, perception of the the album has changed quite a bit, and it was voted #1 in a Rolling Stone poll of “Most Underrated Albums of the Decade.” Q magazine also rated it the 11th best album of the decade, and NME offered a positive reappraisal of the album and examined its original criticisms for its 10th anniversary.