More about: The Killers

A veteran band approaching their 20th anniversary together, everybody knows what the Killers most popular tracks are. We know it, their fans know it, people who hate them and can’t escape 'Mr Brightside' on nights out know it, and most of all the band know it. It’s why they deliver a dozen songs every night of every tour, giving the many first timers at their shows what they came for.

At some points resentful of this (while touring Battle Born in 2012), they’ve since grown to understand how lucky they are that a clutch of their music has essentially entered modern folklore, and they bash out the classics with a grin these days. But what of those songs that never made the leap to radio, ended up as B-sides, or are too much hassle to play live? We’ve collated our own selection of The Killers songs that deserve a bit more love, from Hot Fuss contenders left on the cutting room floor to deeper cuts from their most recent album Imploding the Mirage, a stunning return to form that in different circumstances would have had them ruling festival fields this summer. Oh, and don’t worry, we included one of the Christmas songs too.

'Leave the Bourbon on the Shelf'

While ‘Jenny Was a Friend of Mine’ opened commercial smash Hot Fuss and ‘Midnight Show’ raced us towards that album's finish line, the middle chapter of what’s known as the Killers Murder Trilogy was consigned to the curio's compilation Sawdust. Kicking off with some classic-rock riffing from Dave Keuning, the playful verses belie the grim subject matter of the song, with Flowers’ narrator getting progressively more drunk as they decide to murder their ex-lover. Brandon’s desperate wail during the final chorus is one of his best vocals from the Killers’ first phase.

'Why Do I Keep Counting?'

A triumph result of their Queen fixation (that gave us the likes of ‘Glamorous Indie Rock and Roll’), ‘Why Do I Keep Counting?’ deserves more than its lot tucked away at the back end of Sam’s Town. Lyrically a prayer borne of Flowers’ fear of flying, our narrator grapples with existential dread as they feel their days slipping away. “I have a big problem with flying and the first thing I do if there’s something wrong is I pray. Just bargaining, “I’ll be good if you let me live!”” Flowers told NME in 2006. Starting with delicate keys, the track soon erupts into a huge chorus with the rest of the band going full Bohemian Rhapsody with some exquisite backing vocals. It’s a shame ‘Why Do I Keep Counting?’ doesn’t see the light of the day at live shows, that “help me get down, I can’t make it” refrain would be fantastic to bellow along with 80,000 people. 

'All The Pretty Faces'

Another fantastic tune shuffled over to Sawdust (seriously, considering they only had two albums worth of B-sides to choose from at the time HOW GOOD is that compilation), ‘All the Pretty Faces’ would have been a stellar addition to Sam’s Town. Keuning channelling Sabbath with his chugging power chords, this is about as heavy as the Killers are ever likely to go, and showcases the power they had as a four-piece in those heady early days. Lyrically it could have been the bridge between albums one and two, “All the different places, Ringing out like a shotgun in my head / All the pretty faces, Ringing out and I just can't go to bed / Oh, how did it happen? I spent two long years in a strange, strange land” lamenting the relationships left behind as the group crisscrossed the world on the back of their newfound fame.

'The Rising Tide'

The first material from Battle Born to be shown off live in 2011, ‘The Rising Tide’ proved to be something of an outlier on that weighty, mid-tempo release. Running with the adventure of Day and Age, the Killers take another nod at Mercury et al. with glam guitars and falsetto backup vocals propelling this rollicking number along at a pace the album otherwise fails to match. A mesmerising Keuning guitar solo elevates the final chorus to new heights, Brandon belting out the last refrain to leave us all a-fluster.

'Goodnight, Travel Well'

The Killers continued to flex their creative muscles on Day and Age, incorporating new textures to the heartland rock they embraced on Sam’s Town. It’s likely the slow-burn tempo and morbidity of the lyrics, but album closer ‘Goodnight, Travel Well’ is probably the most daring exploration the band made on that record. Described elsewhere as a “seven minute gothic symphony”, Flowers explores loss and grief in stark, yet touching fashion through the prism of guitarist Keuning losing his mother.

The instrumentation and orchestral arrangement is incredible, rising from a brooding denial to the final euphoric farewell over the titular refrain. For all their reputation for slick pop bangers, this really could be their masterpiece. As Brandon told Observer Music Monthly: "It goes from being the darkest thing we've ever done before shooting up to the clouds at the end. Oh, it's a heartbreaker. It just rips your guts out." As the song explodes around the three-minute mark, as the narrator allows acceptance to wash over them, sit back and feel the shivers down your spine.

'When The Dreams Run Dry'

If ‘Goodnight, Travel Well’ explores saying farewell to your elders, this majestic cut from recent release Imploding the Mirage is Flowers’ rumination on his own mortality and that of his family. Given he’s singing about meeting up with his kids in the afterlife, it’s striking how upbeat the song is, with a wonderfully camp tropical interlude featuring a joyous gang vocal reminding us that “We’re all gonna die!”

From there the steady beat is kicked into gear by the irrepressible Ronnie Vanucci on drums, sending the track circling round the hook, folding around itself like a DNA helix. Referencing his faith, the lyrics celebrate the eternal bonds of family, charting a course through the heavens having transcended mortal trappings, “We'll just follow the moon to the stars, to the sun, to the ground, And around and around and around”. Whether you share Brandon’s outlook on life beyond death, this is the most affecting and impactful of the band’s musings on mortality.

'Just Another Girl'

As a rule we’ve avoided radio singles and Greatest Hits selections here but we’re making an exception for this bonus track from 2013 collection Direct Hits. While ‘Shot at the Night’ was given the push in promotional performances, ‘Just Another Girl’ is the real bop, Flowers reaching back to the tortured romance of Hot Fuss for this cute vignette on getting over the girl that got away.

Catchy, upbeat, the instrumentation bounces off inventive keys and persistent bass from secret weapon Mark Stoermer, the strummed acoustic guitars sitting humbly in the backdrop. The drama and desperation of the final chorus “Now why can't I sleep at night, And why don't the moon look right?!” is vintage Killers, and the heartwarming music video has Dianna Agron donning the feathers and moustache as Flowers’ stand-in as the band take a trip back through their video history.

'Joyride'

One thing the Killers will never get tired of doing is telling us about their hometown of Fabulous Las Vegas, and they don’t conjure many better homages to Sin City  than this glitzy number. Sultry saxophone flourishes from Tommy Marth (who sadly took his own life in 2012) decorate the arrangement with an extra ingredient that really makes this one shine. Led by one of Stoermer’s grooviest contributions on bass guitar, and showered with funk guitar, ‘Joyride’ glistens with sleaze, recounting seedy motel rendezvous and the cheap thrills of the casino floor. 

'From Here On Out'

Sitting cosily towards the end of Battle Born, ‘From Here On Out’ is a carefree square dance singalong that breezes by in under three minutes, by far the shortest entry on the album and all the better for not overstaying its welcome. “It’s probably the most un-Killers song I’ve ever written. It is two minutes, and it’s just really concise and playful,” Flowers told SPIN magazine. A grinning knees-up of a song, accentuated by delightful slide guitar from Mr Keuning, this track is gone before you know it but the hook will have you rewinding again and again.

'Lightning Fields'

On Imploding the Mirage the Killers expanded their horizons by including producers in the writing process and inviting guest vocalists to open their songs into new dimensions. ‘Lightning Fields’ shifts and dips between different moods, at points brooding, defiant, tender and hopelessly in love, with the emotional peak coming as k.d. Lang takes over the vocal in the bridge to tug at the heartstrings, “There's no end to love, There's no end to truth, There's no end to me, There's no end to you”. Not for the first time (see the all-conquering ‘Dustland Fairytale’) Flowers opens up about his parents' relationship, their star-crossed love played out here with Lang providing the female perspective for a cinematic drive through the desert.

'Dirt Sledding'

It would be remiss to complete a “deep dive” on the Killers extensive back-catalogue without paying homage to their lovely series of Christmas songs spanning a decade from 2006-2016. Released in coordination with AIDS charity Project Red every December, the four-piece explored themes secular, sacred and often ridiculous. ‘Dirt Sledding’ concluded what could be called the second Killers Murder Trilogy, this time with Santa Claus the villain. Having spent two songs and eight years trying to hunt Brandon and the boys down, here Santa wants to make amends, but after all these years of bad blood, well...let's say the guys aren’t convinced.

“Crooked nose and bloodshot eyes, Iron will for telling lies, Cheap sick smile and one inch fuse, You hurt me Santa and I'm confused!” Embracing Vegas glitz, glam rock and Elton John pastiche, this theatrical show tune has it all, from the delicate intro, over the top vocal performance, call and response verses, and booming chorus, the icing on the Christmas cake is another virtuoso guitar solo from Dave Keuning.

More about: The Killers