Few bands in the mid-2000s rose so rapidly to the front of pop music as Las Vegas group of four the Killers. With a mix of '80s-styled synth pop and fashionista charm, the band's street-smart debut, Hot Fuss, became one of 2004's biggest releases, spawning four singles and shoot the group -- particularly their dandyish, 22-year-old frontman, Brandon Flowers -- into the international spotlight. Hot Fuss reveled in the garish glitz of the band's native Las Vegas, spinning tales of androgynous girlfriends and illicit affairs to a public whose taste for revivalist dance-rock would prove to be virtually insatiable. Franz Ferdinand, Interpol, and the Bravery all benefited from such retro-minded interest, but the Killers shamelessly trumped them all -- even when their sophomore effort, Sam's Town, deemphasized the group's new wave responsiveness in favor of something more akin to the heartland rock of
Bruce Springsteen and Rattle and Hum-era U2.
Brandon Flowers (vocals/keyboards), David Keuning (guitar),
Mark Stoermer (bass), and Ronnie Vannucci (drums) first came together in 2002, two years before the stylish Hot Fuss introduced their band to the public. Flowers had been sacked by his former synth pop band, Blush Response, after refusing to move to Los Angeles alongside his bandmates.
Shared U.K. dates with British Sea Power and stellastarr in summer 2004 gave the Killers the opportunity to showcase material from their debut album, Hot Fuss, which arrived in June. "Somebody Told Me," "Mr. Brightside," "Smile Like You Mean It," and "All These Things That I've Done" all became worldwide chart hits, and Hot Fuss peaked at number seven on the Billboard Top 200. Buoyed by such success, Flowers became a sought-after media presence, often lashing out at such groups as the Bravery for riding his band's coattails into the mainstream. The frontman's confidence was not unwarranted; by 2006, Hot Fuss had earned five Grammy nominations and sold over five million copies. Rather than take a break to recover from their relentless tour regime, the Killers immediately set to work on their sophomore effort. A newly built facility at the Palms Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas became the band's studio, and legendary producers Flood and Alan Moulder (who had previously worked together with U2 and the Smashing Pumpkins) were chosen to helm the controls. Instead of mining the glamour and glitz of their hometown (as they did to successful extent on Hot Fuss), the group instead focused on nostalgia and the demise of old-fashioned American values, citing veteran songsmith Bruce Springsteen as a chief influence.
