Imploding The Mirage is an album worthy of the Killers’ reputation as one of world’s biggest bands
FOR Brandon Flowers, radio is still king.
Despite the age of social media, the Killers frontman still gets a thrill from hearing himself on the radio.
That has been the case ever since, aged 19, in the parking lot of a 7/11 store, he heard a local Las Vegas station play the band’s first demo.
He says: “I was raised on the radio. Whether it was my dad playing oldies, my brother the alternative station or my sister on the R&B station. I was listening to all of it and it had a profound impact on me. I can’t help it — I want to be on the radio.”
Flowers is thrilled that brilliant new singles Caution and My Own Soul’s Warning are all over UK radio airwaves — a sure sign the Las Vegas band’s sixth album is set to be another huge hit.
Imploding The Mirage is an album worthy of their reputation as one of the world’s biggest bands.
It arrives 12 months after their headline Glastonbury performance, a career highlight that both Flowers, 39, and drummer Ronnie Vannucci, 44, are visibly proud of as we chat via video from their Utah homes, where, Vannucci says: “It’s pleasantly warm — not like Vegas where it boils your brain.”
Flowers adds: “I’ve seen some Glastonbury footage and it’s hard to believe it’s us. It was like an out-of-body experience. What a great night.”
Vannucci adds: “We saw it as playing for a country we absolutely love and feel a kinship with.”
So starting work on their new album, the Killers were in a confident mood.
“We were definitely riding high,” says Flowers.
“I love coming off the heels of something big like that because it’s fresh in your mind,” adds Vannucci.
The new album is the first without founding guitarist Dave Keuning.
He quit after recording 2017 album Wonderful Wonderful, sick of touring commitments and frustrated with creative decisions.
Bassist Mark Stoermer is also less involved with the band these days and only plays with them occasionally.
Both admit that, at first, Keuning’s absence was felt, until they realised they could create a new sound for the Killers.
Vannucci says: “His absence helped us navigate things in a different way.”
Flowers adds: “At first we were guilty of trying to make it sound like we had a lead guitarist present. But we used the absence as an opportunity.
“I’ve got these keyboards I can play and we have these other ideas and so it opened up new doors and it was fun.
“Once we got the right team, it just started to roll out in front of us.”
By “the team” Flowers is referring to music producer Shawn Everett and Jonathan Rado, of the Californian indie rock duo Foxygen, who came onboard after the band had started work with U2 and Snow Patrol producer Jacknife Lee, who they had worked with on Wonderful Wonderful.
“It was like speed dating with other producers, including Jacknife, who we’d made a good six or seven songs with,” says Vannucci.
And it was working with Everett and Rado that encouraged the album to be a collaborative work.
Though suggestions as to who they could ask to play on the record seemed far-fetched.
“The Lindsey Buckingham thing started off as a joke as we were in LA and Fleetwood Mac was played everywhere. It was a joke — then his ass showed up the next day,” laughs Vannucci.
“And I joked how we should play a show for the BBC on the roof of Caesar’s Palace and that happened too.”
The former Fleetwood Mac star plays on the euphoric Caution, and Flowers says it was a “pinch me” moment to see the legendary guitarist in the studio with them.
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Vannucci says: “I grew up listening to Fleetwood Mac so it was surreal. I FaceTimed my mom and I was like, ‘Look, it’s Lindsey’.”
Flowers adds: “We were lucky that he came down to the studio. To be in the room while he worked was something I’ll never forget. We also went to dinner a couple of times and we tried to keep our cool but still hear the Fleetwood Mac stories.”
Flowers says he’s a lot more open to collaborations now he’s older and so when k.d. Lang agreed to sing on the gorgeous Lightning Fields, he was thrilled.
He says: “It was a great victory to get her on the song. There’s a wisdom in her delivery and that’s why we went for someone like her.”
“It’s OK to have friendly competition. And it reminded me of Is This It by the Strokes, where it lit a fire in me when we were making our first album
It had been the spiritual track My God (featuring Weyes Blood aka Natalie Mering) that set the direction for the album as well as hearing Vampire Weekend’s album Father Of The Bride that gave Flowers a push.
“I knew that there was something about that song and that’s when the trajectory of the record changed. And I was a little bit jealous when I heard that album. I admit it,” he laughs.
“It’s OK to have friendly competition. And it reminded me of Is This It by the Strokes, where it lit a fire in me when we were making our first album.
“I want MY songs to make me feel the way songs that I love make me feel.
The new album deals with the PTSD Flowers’ wife Tana was diagnosed with a few years ago after multiple traumatic events led to her feeling suicidal
“That’s difficult. I knew this album had to be special. So when they started to come it was a real blessing.”
Lyrically the album deals with the PTSD Flowers’ wife Tana was diagnosed with a few years ago after multiple traumatic events led to her feeling suicidal.
It is something he’s written about before but this album deals with the positive side of getting through difficult times.
He says: “The good thing about this new record is that it doesn’t focus on the doom and gloom, as much as on the perseverance and the recovery. It’s triumphant in a beautiful way. I feel happiness is manifest on the record.”
Flowers says he did struggle at first with opening up about his family’s struggles.
“I had a little trepidation at first but people say it’s cathartic. You hope that it’s going to resonate with other people, because you’re being honest.”
Flowers, Tana and their boys Ammon, 13, Gunnar, 11, and Henry, nine, left Las Vegas and moved to Utah three years ago for Tana to have a new start to help with her recovery.
“It’s just a clean slate and untainted, unlike Vegas, where there were ghosts for my wife. It’s been good for us as a family although I’ve always been an ambassador for Vegas. And I think I always will be, but I know I also am the first to acknowledge that I have rose-coloured glasses.
“I have this old American feeling about Vegas that still kind of exists there, and I still like that.”
Both Flowers and Vannucci have enjoyed time at home. Vannucci married second wife Olivia in 2017 — and they are making the most of their extra family time.
“I’ve got a studio at home — my man cave — and I’ve never spent so much time there, which has been great,” he says.
Flowers adds: “My boys all had birthdays recently so it’s been good to be here. My eldest is 13. He’s a good boy, they all are, but I have missed not playing shows. I didn’t realise how precious that communication was for me until it was taken away. We’re lucky that as a band we’ve had so many amazing moments on stage and I look forward to many more.”
During lockdown there have been a few live performances for Flowers and Vannucci, including a makeshift studio in Flowers’ bathroom.
“It’s good acoustics in the bathroom and I haven’t gone into having a home studio yet.”
Recently, the Killers’ legal team found “no corroboration” (evidence) of backstage sexual assault claims against their tour crew following an investigation after sound engineer Chez Cherrie claimed that a woman was abused backstage during their 2009 US tour.
None of the band was implicated in the alleged assault and Flowers says it’s something “we faced head on and wanted to get to the bottom of”.
He adds: “As soon as we heard about it, we wanted to dive in. It’s strange when it’s in your own camp, and a lot of our crew have been with us since the beginning and are like family.
“Thank God it turned out to be a false alarm. I don’t have any daughters, but I have a wife and four sisters, nieces and female cousins.
“I’ve seen first-hand what bad men can do to women’s experiences. I would never turn a blind eye to something like that, so it was great we got answers so quickly.
“We want everyone to feel safe at our gigs on our next tour. We’re going to make a number available for anyone to call if they feel uncomfortable. Hopefully it will start a domino effect and we’re happy that at least that’s come out of this.”
Next year marks 20 years since they formed and the band are looking forward to playing the UK next May.
Flowers says: “First we have to deal with this year — the presidential election. Donald Trump being the face of my country just doesn’t sit right with me and I think a lot of people are frustrated and hopefully we can do something about it.
“Then we need to find a vaccine for this disease and get back on the road.
“It feels wild that it’s 20 years. It’s gone by so fast. We’ve grown a lot and there’s a bit of humility that’s crept into the band that didn’t exist in the beginning. I was only 19 when we were writing the first album. I was not fully developed. And I don’t know that I am now. But I’m closer.
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“A lot has changed within the band, but we’re really grateful for where we’re at. We never take it for granted.
“I’m looking forward to the next ten or 20 years because I’ve seen Bono and Mick Jagger keep doing it.
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“And those are the people that we admire, for sure.”
- Imploding The Mirage is out today.
The Killers - Imploding The Mirage
★★★★★
- My Own Soul’s Warning
- Blowback
- Dying Breed
- Caution
- Lightning Fields (ft k.d. lang)
- Fire In Bone
- Running Towards A Place
- My God (ft Weyes Blood)
- When The Dreams Run Dry
- Imploding The Mirage
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