The Killers’ “Best Of” collection Rebel Diamonds has topped the UK album charts and its success seems to have put singer Brandon Flowers in reflective mood. Speaking to the NME, the frontman has described the Killers’ two-decade career as a “whirlwind” – but has hinted that he may be moving away from the “traditional” Killers sound, adding: “As I get older I want to be authentic to who I am and how I’m feeling.”
“I’ve been caught up in this whirlwind for 20 years; in this cycle of touring, writing, touring and writing,” he said. “It was quite an awakening process to get time to look through all that we’d done.”
Rebel Diamonds is the Las Vegas rockers’ second Greatest Hits compilation (following 2013’s Direct Hits) and is a chronological retrospective of their career to date, featuring at least one track from each of their seven studio albums, as well as the previously unreleased song “Spirit”.
The Killers in 2009: Smiling like they mean it.
Flowers formed the Killers in 2001 with guitarist Dave Keuning after attending an Oasis gig in his native Las Vegas. Speaking about the band’s origins, the singer maintained that from the very beginning he was driven by greater ambitions than any of his so-called rivals on the Vegas rock circuit.
“We were always a little different from the other Vegas bands back then because I noticed that there was this competition and rivalry between local bands,” he said. “I wasn’t thinking about them – I was thinking about the White Stripes, the Strokes, and Oasis. I didn’t allow myself to get to U2 just yet, but I asked myself, ‘What is it that these bands are doing and why are they not still in their hometown?’ That’s what set us apart quite early on.”
Debut single “Mr. Brightside” was a hit worldwide in 2003, reaching No. 10 in both the UK singles chart and the Billboard Hot 100, and follow-up singles “Somebody Told Me”, “All These Things That I’ve Done” and “Smile Like You Mean It” helped propel debut album Hot Fuss to the top of the UK album chart and No. 7 in the Billboard 200. Although each of their subsequent six studio LPs have reached No. 1 in the UK, it took until 2017’s Wonderful, Wonderful for the Killers to achieve their first U.S. chart topper.
Despite Rebel Diamonds’ success, Flowers has also hinted that the same hunger that took his band out of Las Vegas means he’s keen to move on to the next phase in his musical career.
“I’m my own harshest critic,” he said. “I’m still doing that thing I did 20 years ago where I’m looking at our 'Best Of' and then looking at Tom Petty’s 'Best Of' and seeing where I’m falling short.
“I’m not disparaging that sound – a lot of that music has shaped who I am – but as I get older I want to be authentic to who I am and how I’m feeling. I have to follow that, and I just feel like that’s leading more towards guitar music, rock n’ roll and Americana music.”
Brandon Flowers still has the hunger that propelled The Killers to stardom.
