The Killers are spending the summer performing intermittent dates in the U.S. and Canada, and at a stop last night in Windsor, Ontario, the Las Vegas band previewed a new song—a rarity four years after their last studio album—as well as performing a cover of an Interpol favorite.
Leading into “Bling (Confessions Of A King)” off of the band’s Sam’s Town record (celebrating its tenth anniversary this year), the new song featured Killers frontman Brandon Flowers and a piano, and could possibly be one of the tunes Elton John helped compose for the new album. While the solo piano arrangement certainly suggests John’s involvement, the song mines classic Killers tropes of shattered dreams and regret, retaining the anthemic quality of songs like “Read My Mind” and “Dustland Fairytale.” You can watch the performance on the fan site Can It Be The Way It Was? here.
The band also paid tribute to one of their influences, covering Interpol’s “Obstacle 1” from 2002’s Turn On The Bright Lights. “There were a couple of bands that really sort of lit a fire under us when we were first starting, and one of those bands was Interpol,” Flowers said, introducing the song.
The Killers were missing original bass player Mark Stoermer at last night’s show; the band released a statement last May stating that Stoermer, who has been with the band since its inception in 2002, will be featured on the new record but will be taking a break from touring with The Killers. “Don’t be surprised if you see him on stage from time to time,” stated the press release. “Everyone supports Mark’s decision to take a break to pursue other educational goals and releasing a solo album.” Jake Blanton, who stood in for Stoermer in a 2013 tour of Asia, will be touring with The Killers throughout 2016.
The new record—which, at this point, has no title or firm release date—will be the band’s fifth album and their first since 2013’s Direct Hits collection. The Killers’ last studio album was 2012’s Battle Born.
[Via Fuse]