Until Brandon Flowers came along, Mormon rock stars were about as rare as liberal country singers or sexually inactive rappers. But the Killers’ rise to fame has been an undoubted boon for the religion over the past decade. Even though Flowers risked a backlash from the largely secular music world, the frontman has been forthright about his beliefs and background ever since the Las Vegas band released their debut, “Hot Fuss,” back in 2004.
“It’s still such a small religion compared to mainstream Christianity, but it’s getting more and more known,” says the singer a few days before the Tuesday release of the Killers’ fourth album, “Battle Born.” Flowers has made a huge effort to paint Mormonism in a less stereotypical light.
Last year, while taking a break from the Killers to promote his successful solo album “Flamingo,” the singer starred in an online video for mormon.org, highlighting his faith and family, and seeking to debunk the common myth that all Mormons engage in polygamist marriages. It raised plenty of eyebrows among music fans, but Flowers remains adamant that he isn’t quite the only Mormon rock star in history.
“Mick Ronson [David Bowie’s guitarist] was raised a Mormon, but he didn’t really talk about it,” Flowers says. “Actually, a lot of the early saints came from the UK. Once they converted, they all went to America — and Salt Lake City, in particular.
“My line of ancestry goes back to the UK, too,” he adds. “One of my ancestors converted in the middle of England and then moved to Salt Lake City. Then he ended up having family that moved south to St. George, Utah, which was close to Vegas. And eventually, that line reached me.”
Flowers’ profile as a prominent Mormon is such that even presidential candidate Mitt Romney has seemingly sensed an opportunity to score credibility points by identifying himself as a Killers fan. Back in March, the Republican candidate included two Killers songs (“Somebody Told Me” and “Read My Mind”) in a Spotify playlist, and as recently as last month, he again referenced them as being “one group I enjoy,” in an interview with Parade magazine.
Surprisingly hip claims from a guy who sang “America the Beautiful” like a tone-deaf William Shatner in front of Florida voters at the start of the year. Flowers, however, is unwilling to call BS on Romney’s fandom.
“I hope anyone can be a Killers fan,” Flowers says, laughing. “It was a little bit strange to hear him saying he liked us, but we’ve had Paul
McCartney show up to one of our shows. It’s more shocking to me to have a Beatle come see us than have Mitt Romney talk about us.”
Differing viewpoints within the band have meant that Flowers has decided against officially endorsing the campaign that might see the country’s first Mormon president. But whatever their personal politics, it’s unlikely that Flowers, along with bassist Mark Stoermer, guitarist Dave Keuning or drummer Ronnie Vannucci Jr. (all of whom are non-Mormons) will mind the extra publicity that Romney’s shout-out has generated in the run up to the release of “Battle Born.”
It’s the Killers’ first collection since 2008’s “Day & Age,” which saw them experiment with more synthetic sounds, to a middling effect.
“It threw the fans for a loop, I think. There was definitely confusion,” says Flowers of the album’s muted response. “Battle Born,” in contrast, is a more transparent effort, if only because almost every song sounds like a purpose-built rock anthem, written specifically to be blasted from the world’s arenas and open-air festival stages.
Vocally too, Flowers is in the best form of his life, and the time he spent on his solo album has helped hone his songwriting skills and add the narrative detail that matches the band’s widescreen sound.
“We really wanted to take what we learned from playing live, and incorporate that into the songwriting,” continues the frontman. “As I get older, I think I want to be more concise with my lyrics. I appreciate the simplicity of good storytelling, and I think there probably are some more tender moments on this album.
“Having a family is probably part of that change,” adds Flowers, 31, who married his wife, Tana, in 2005, and has three sons: Ammon, 5; Gunnar, 3; and Henry, 1. “I’m definitely different now. I’m not enthralled with the idea of a glam rock fantasy as I was in the beginning. Now I’m more interested in being a good songwriter than I am in the myths of rock ’n’ roll.”
For a band that was once tipped to be as big as REM or U2, it seems as though the Killers may have underachieved a little. But having regrouped and refocused, Flowers and his compatriots seem keen to make up for their hubris of the past.
“There are a lot of big moments on this record — and they’re meant for big audiences,” he says. And if some of those audiences include Mitt Romney, so be it. Just pray he doesn’t stand next to you at a show — his version of “Mr. Brightside” might send you running for the exit.