The Killers' "Hot Fuss" gets a vinyl reissue

This week UMe announced it's re-releasing Hot Fuss, the debut album from The Killers, January 13 on standard weight vinyl and as a limited pressing on white vinyl. Head's up, there was only 1,000 white vinyl produced, and they've already sold out. You can still pre-order the standard version via Amazon though for around $18 (as of today), which is a pretty good deal.

Not sure there was a strong demand for a Hot Fuss reissue, as you can grab a 180-gram European version released over the summer on Discogs for under $25 before shipping as of today. As Modern Vinyl notes, that Euro release was missing "Change Your Mind," so now we get to have the full American Hot Fuss in all its synthy glory. 

If you were around in 2004, Hot Fuss was one of the biggest albums on the planet. At the time, I was holding out on giving it a chance because I found its lead single, "Somebody Told Me," just a little bit too vacant and built for radio. (Full disclosure: some of this may also have been due to the fact that I heard a local Morning Zoo-type radio DJ in Tucson gushing about the song, and it just put me off of The Killers for a good while.)

I also recall the moment I felt pleasantly surprised while hearing Hot Fuss for the first time. Sure, it tends to drop off a bit after the fifth or sixth song, but that first run of tracks is brilliant. What's also surprising is that Hot Fuss generally holds up. It may not be a consistent go-to record, but songs like "Jenny Was A Friend of Mine" and "Mr. Brightside" still sound great on a dancefloor. 

The Killers never really topped Hot Fuss, which was somewhat surprisingly recorded in Berkeley, Calif. and not Las Vegas— the band's hometown. Its sophomore album, Sam's Town (which was also recently reissued), was largely a disappointment in comparison, much like the string of releases that followed. That said, it's still a fun spin and worth adding to your collection.