The Killers

You know The Killers. Fans from all musical genres know Mr. Brightside and When You Were Young. It’s been nine years since The Killers’ “Hot Fuss” debut album, and on November 11 they released a “Direct Hits” album. It’s a 15-track album with three deluxe edition bonus tracks, including the original demo of Mr. Brightside. The two new releases, Just Another Girl and Shot At The Night, give fans a fresh listen.

Truthfully The Killers did not want to release a greatest hits’ album, but admitted that it had been a contractual obligation for them to release it. But die-hard fans, including myself, should be glad to find every great song included on the album. Bands like The Killers do not come around often. It’s rare to see such a successful group remain like The Killers. Brandon Flowers, Dave Keuning, Mark Stoermer and Ronnie Vannuci Jr. have been around for over a decade now. They have sold over 20 million of their four studio albums. Flowers left the band a few years ago to take on a solo career. Vannuci and Stoermer also left for a brief while to pursue musical ambitions.

They, however, returned to make “Battle Born” last year. Flowers’ vocals are a prominent reason of The Killers’ success, as are his lyrics. Flowers’ writes the majority of The Killers’ songs, and his impact can be felt throughout the world. Europe, Australia and North America fell in love with The Killers from there earliest days of “Hot Fuss”—as “Hot Fuss” rose towards the top of the charts in those locations. Mr. Brightside received such high praise and recognition. It’s largely considered one of the top songs of the first decade in the 21^st century. Flowers wrote his lyrics about love, life, growing up, feeling—you know the usual. Flowers’ raw emotion during a live performance is something appreciated by fans. He put his soul into his songs, which made for a wonderful show. The Killers consistently released tracks that inspired fans. The beauty had been in how simple Flowers’ lyrics had been yet they continued to grow onto fans.

One song off of “Hot Fuss” titled All These Things That I’ve Done speak about growing up, realizing how much you have grown and then the aftershock of realizing it. Probably the most famous line by The Killers can be found in that song, “I got soul, but I’m not a soldier.” That lyric can be found as a tattoo, a yearbook quote, a tweet or written on a high school student’s notebook. “Direct Hits” will remind you of some great memory you had in grammar or high school—that’s what it was able to provide me, and even the new songs you might not be familiar with Runaways and Be Still (off last year’s Battle Born album) could give you new memories because that is what music does. You remember songs that you heard with your friends, and unlike many bands, The Killers, have music from nine years ago and now.