Caliente

The Killers' sophomore CD entertains as well as frustrates

To anybody who'll listen, Brandon Flowers, lead singer of The Killers, will extol his newfound love of Bruce Springsteen and The Boss' influence on the band's latest album "Sam's Town." Lyrically, Springsteen's tales of physical and social isolation, and the hope and dejection that springs from it, permeates much of the album ("This town was meant for passing through, boy it ain't nothin' new," Flowers sings in "This River is Wild.") But perhaps the more relevant lyric comes from "For Reasons Unknown," when Flowers notes, "I check my face. I look a little bit older." Yes, the quartet that helped get every Gen X and Y rock kid on the dance floor two years ago has matured and, with "Sam's Town," has produced a hit-or-miss collection of new rock anthems. Like their debut album "Hot Fuss," "Sam's Town" is front-loaded with instantly catchable songs, but the album unfortunately runs out of steam by the end. The foursome write brilliant, uptempo pop songs, but softer songs like "My List" sound more like '80s hair metal ballads than new prom anthems. But while it's hard to beat the immediacy that much of "Hot Fuss" offered, the band has grown up and they seem to understand that you can add elements to your music (Is that a glockenspiel?) without releasing the cliched "difficult" second album. Unlike many of their peers, The Killers admirably avoid rehashing their uber-successful debut wholesale. The result is a more ornate, diverse album that is long on both hits and frustration.