The Killers' New Record: Headed for an Arena Near You

Rollingstone.com

Break out your white leather belts - the Killers' new album is out September 19th. We got to hear some with the band.

The general idea? ''Bigger songs,'' says frontman Brandon Flowers. ''There are people who want us to write 'Somebody Told Me'again and we just don't want that.'' Instead, he and his bandmates looked to Bruce Springsteen, U2, and Depeche Mode for inspiration, trading synths and cold robotic vocals for full, swelling guitar melodies that wouldn't be out of place in an arena. (It didn't hurt that they got U2 and Depeche Mode producing vets Flood and Alan Moulder behind the mixing boards.)

On the likely first single, ''When You Were Young,'' Flowers does a convincing Bowie quaver: ''Sometimes you close your eyes/And see the place where you used to live/When you were young.'' The multi-layered epic ''Sam’s Town,'' weaves together Bowie-syle glam, David Byrne-ish android vocals, kiddie piano and accordion. And on the angry ballad ''Bling,'' which updates ''All These Things That I've Done'' with lush strings and computer blips, Flowers takes on his critics: ''I'm sick of all my judges/So scared to let me shine.''

You shine, Brandon.