The Killers scrapped their new album because it didn’t feel “authentic”.
The ‘Human’ hitmakers revealed over the summer they had ditched a planned new record and frontman Brandon Flowers has now explained they felt like they were “forcing something” in the studio with the electronic style of the sound.
He told The Sun newspaper: “It just didn’t feel authentic. It felt like we were forcing something.
“We love synth music, it’s a part of our DNA and there’s been great contributions from us in that genre.
“And man, we love New Order and Depeche Mode, so it’s not a slight. It just doesn’t feel right for us at this moment.”
Over the years, the group have worked with a string of artists including Phoebe Bridgers, Lindsey Buckingham and k.d. lang, but won’t say who else is on their wish list.
Ronnie Vannucci Jr. said: “There’s a lot. I feel weird about punching names out there though as they happen organically.
“With writing, we’re at the stage now where the inspiration hits and there’s an artistic response to it.
“We deliver that and it feels good. Then 20, 30, even 40 years later, we can look back almost like our songs are a diary.”
The pair are “proud” of how they have managed to stay together even with bandmates Dave Keuning and Mark Stoermer going on hiatus in 2016 and 2017, but returning from time to time.
Brandon said: “It was kind of tough to navigate. But that’s another thing I’m proud of. We’ve come up with this arrangement that works for everybody.
“A lot of bands just dissolve or there’s public fighting…
“We had a fairly mature response to Dave and Mark. And we’ve come up with a way that works.
“You’re going to see them come in and out. And you might see them at a gig and you might not.
“What’s important is that the show keeps going on. Which has happened for two decades. So here’s to another 20 years.”
After headlining Glastonbury in 2019, Brandon hopes the group will one day return to the festival for a sixth time and top the bill again.
He said: “Jo Whiley insinuated that the next time we will be at Glastonbury will be on the Legends Stage. And I thought, ‘Whoa! I think we’ve got another headline spot in us before that’. We are more than songs and albums, we are about live performances. That 2019 Glastonbury was so special. The encore was so cool.
“We are from Las Vegas so we grew up watching big shows. So early on we were granted permission to put on that type of show — and we took advantage of it.
“I am really proud of us for doing that from such a young age. It’s become part of our identity.”