Almost 10 years ago, The Killers landed on the charts with “Somebody Told Me” and “Mr. Brightside,” a one-two punch of synth-heavy rock heralding the second coming of Duran Duran. They've since deviated significantly from that path, wandering away to a Springsteen and Americana-influenced sophomore album, and then settling on arena rock with electronic touches.
Now a commercial powerhouse with four albums in the past decade, The Killers are set to release their first proper greatest hits album Direct Hits, which includes the 13 singles from the band’s four albums, plus two new songs (and some bonus tracks on the deluxe edition). M83’s Anthony Gonzalez produced the first of those new tracks, “Shot At The Night,” which finally returns to the more new wave sounds of the band’s early breakthroughs, with layered electronic production elements typical of Gonzalez’s cinematic soundscapes. For now, it’s just a one-off collaboration, but it leaves the door open for further production collaboration in the future. This is the best The Killers have sounded in years, so hopefully Brandon Flowers and company will continue to let Gonzalez bring that work out.
Direct Hits is out November 11th.