THE KILLERS
Rebel Diamonds (EMI)
What with next year being the 20th anniversary of Hot Fuss, the debut album which shot The Killers into the stratosphere of fame and recognition, this best-of collection invites us to think back to this Las Vegas band’s more humble early-00s origins: setting out their stall with songs of working class life and heartache, kind of like the E-Street Band meets Joy Division.
Rebel Diamonds compiles 20 Killers single and album tracks, from Hot Stuff to Pressure Machine via Battle Born, plus a couple of newbies in the form of Your Side Of Town and Spirit. From Mr Brightside to When You Were Young to Human to Quiet Town, The Killers pretty much picked up the baton dropped by New Order or Pet Shop Boys and sprinted with it.
In fact, Rebel Diamonds matches those aforementioned bands’ golden ages, and track records of earworm after earworm, and amounts to a comparably strong best of. An awe-inspiring collection of songs.
words DAVID NOBAKHT