The Killers find their way home on anthemic single ‘Bright Lights’
The song comes ahead of the rock band's Las Vegas residency celebrating their debut LP, Hot Fuss
By Emily Zemler
The Killers have dropped a new single, ‘Bright Lights.’ The anthemic song marks the Las Vegas rock band’s first new music of 2024 and heralds their upcoming hometown residency.
The rousing, upbeat track sees frontman Brandon Flowers celebrating Vegas as he sings, “Will this endless stretch of desert road get me back where I belong?” A music video for the single, directed by Micah Bickham, will showcase the band’s residency stage at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace.
The Killers’ Las Vegas residency kicks off Aug. 14 and runs through Sept. 1. It will see the band celebrating the 20th anniversary of their debut album, Hot Fuss, by performing the LP from front to back for the first time ever.
All four members of the band — singer Brandon Flowers, guitarist Dave Keuning, bassist Mark Stoermer, and drummer Ronnie Vannucci Jr — will participate in the shows. This is a rarity since Stoermer stopped touring with the group in 2016 due to hearing issues and burnout from the road, and Keuning stepped away between 2017 and 2020 to spend more time with his family. He returned to the group in 2021, but he’s been MIA for several recent tours.
In December, the Killers released the compilation album Rebel Diamonds, featuring the new song ‘Spirit.’ A new album was in the works last year, but they scrapped it because Flowers no longer felt like making synth-pop records reminiscent of their early work.
“Halfway through recording, I realized, ‘I can’t do this,’” Flowers told The Times. “This is the crisis I’m in. The Killers are my identity, and our songs fill the seats, but I’m more fulfilled making music like [the stark, stripped-down] Pressure Machine. I found a side of myself writing it that was strong. This was the guy I’d been looking for! I’m as proud of Hot Fuss as you can be for something you did when you were 20, but I’m not 20. So I’m thinking about the next phase of my life.”