USA TODAY International Edition
At last, The Killers’ ‘ Mirage’ is a reality
Yes, Brandon Flowers is well aware of your “Mr. Brightside” memes.
For years, the internet has jocularly riffed on The Killers’ rousing 2003 anthem, particularly its snarling opening line, “Coming out of my cage and I’ve been doing just fine.” But since the pandemic started earlier this year, the jokes have taken on a decidedly darker tone, as people bemoan that they’re not OK. (“Coming out of my cage and going right back in,” a recent tweet quipped.)
“I see little things ( on Twitter). Those are always funny,” Flowers says. The soft- spoken musician even got in on the fun in March, sharing a COVID- themed video of himself singing and washing his hands to “Mr. Brightside.” Alas, “I don’t think my kids are washing their hands to any of our choruses.”
On Friday, The Killers will release their sixth studio album, “Imploding the Mirage,” which was initially set for release in May before it was delayed amid coronavirus. The album features more of the band’s signature arena- friendly rock, with pulsating singles such as “Caution” about love and stepping out of your comfort zone.
“Mirage” was inspired in part by Flowers’ move from Las Vegas to Utah with his wife, Tana Mundkowsky, and their three sons. The front man has spoken candidly about Mundkowsky’s struggle with complex post- traumatic stress disorder from childhood, and how it inspired the band’s song “Rut” from the 2017 album “Wonderful Wonderful.” Their relationship is part of the new record, too.
“Most of this record is about me and my wife becoming eternal, and the question, ‘ Can two become one?’ “Flowers says. “I wanted to to capture the beauty of perseverance. If ‘ Wonderful Wonderful’ was about me going into some of the uglier sides of life, this one is more celebratory.”
The album’s striking cover art is a painting called “Dance of the Wind and Storm” by artist Thomas Blackshear. It features two figures embracing in billowing clouds, floating over a majestic desert landscape.
“We got the album cover art early on in the process, and we started printing it out and putting it in the studio in different places, so it was always around,” Flowers says. “It was a pretty interesting exercise; we had never done that before. It became a place that I went to for counsel on lyrics and even what we were doing texturally on the album.”
“Mirage” marks the first Killers album without guitarist/ co- founder Dave Keuning, who left the band in 2017 to pursue a solo career. But drummer Ronnie Vannucci Jr. insists there is no ill will, and says they’ll be reuniting with Keuning in the studio this month.
“The tides might be changing a little bit for the better. The four horsemen ride again,” Vannucci says. “We’ll see what happens. As we get older, priorities change and people need to do life things that don’t include playing in a rock band. I totally get that. I think we’ll look back and say that was a much- needed respite for everybody.”
In the weeks leading up to the release of “Mirage,’ The Killers have been in the headlines for allegations of sexual misconduct against their 2009 touring crew by a former sound engineer. After an internal investigation, the band’s legal team found “no corroboration” of the claims.
Vannucci says the allegations were “a complete surprise” to the group, but “it still made you think about ‘ Well, what if this were to happen? Is there something to make people feel they’ve got someone to tell or someplace to go if there was some weirdness in the workplace?’
There is no such animal. Yes, there’s the cops and there’s management, and that should be enough.
“But I like the idea of setting up an independent HR- type situation. It’s important for people to feel safe and heard and valued, so if that’s what it has to come to, that’s what we’ll do.”
Like most artists, The Killers are itching to get back on stage in front of a live audience whenever it is safe to do so. But they’re keeping busy in the meantime: Flowers says quarantine has been an especially “fruitful” time for writing, with “new songs stacking up” inspired by his small- town roots. Now 39, Flowers has been thinking a lot recently about legacy and what his musical heroes Bruce Springsteen, Don Henley and Peter Gabriel had accomplished at this point in their careers.
“It’s kind of a scary thought. You start to think about what you’re doing with your time,” Flowers says. “I want to raise my kids and be the best that I can for them, and be the best husband I can for my wife. Those are the main things, and I would much rather be successful in that department than as a writer and performer. But I also am a competitive person, so I look at people I admire that were great in their 40s. I look at what they were doing and I just compare what I’m doing. That’s the kind of stuff that keeps me going back to the piano and the studio.”
“Most of this record is about me and my wife becoming eternal, and the question, ‘ Can two become one?’ ” Brandon Flowers The Killers