The Killers

The band from Las Vegas who sound more British than David Bowie, The Killers have always been somewhat of a musical anomaly. Raised in the desert whilst fixated on glam-rock, vocalist, Brandon Flowers, along with Dave Keuning (guitar), Mark Stoermer (bass) and drummer Ronnie Vannucci Jr, emerged as part of the new wave of rock acts taking over after the Garage Rock Renaissance of 2000.

‘New wave’ is an apt description; The Killers’ particular early brand of synth rock was heavily indebted to the sounds of the ‘80s. Their debut track. ‘Mr Brightside’, was a hit in the UK before they had even made waves in America, as was the case with the band’s hugely popular first album, ‘Hot Fuss’.

With an emphasis on glitter, glamour, darkness and seduction, The Killers would eventually become indie favourites in America too, as they released hit after hit from the album, including ‘Somebody Told Me’, ‘All These Things That I’ve Done’ and ‘Smile Like You Mean It.’ The latter, premiered nationally on teen drama, The O.C., became a new model for how smaller bands could increase their exposure to a wider audience. With international sales in the millions, The Killers embarked on a lengthy tour that lasted almost two years.

Subsequent releases from The Killers - 2006’s ‘Sam’s Town’ and 2008’s ‘Day & Age’, have shown the band to be far more than a one-trick pony. Disillusioned at how far his band had strayed from their roots, Flowers proposed ‘Sam’s Town’ to be a sort of Bruce Springsteen, great-American ode to their hometown of Las Vegas.

The album, in which the band showed off a more rugged, desert look (including a hefty moustache for Brandon!), would spawn hits ‘When You Were Young’ and ‘Read My Mind’, both of which highlighted a renewed sense of patriotism for the band.

Critics viewed ‘Day & Age’, rife with allusions to spacemen and a new, beefed-up instrumentalism, as The Killers’ grab at the stadium-rock sound popularised by U2, and more recently, Coldplay. Not that anyone could blame them; by the end of 2007, The Killers had performed at some of the biggest gigs in the world, including Glastonbury and Live 8. They would also headline Australia’s V Festival in 2009.

Much attention has been focused on Flowers, the chief lyricist and songwriter of The Killers, whose changing appearance (from androgynous glam to refined cowboy) and lyrical bent has opened up questions about his sexuality. Sadly, there’s no controversy to be had. Not only is Flowers a devout Mormon, but he’s also been happily married since The Killers first started.

However, he’s still happy to mouth off about label mates, The Bravery, with whom his band had a huge spat, as well as telling NME that he hoped to "knock Nirvana and Led Zeppelin off their pedestal" and allow new bands a chance to enter music history. Humans or dancers, the sky seems to be the limit for Vegas’ Fab Four.