I’VE BEEN A FAN OF THE KILLERS since the first time I heard “Mr. Brightside” back when I taught middle school.  Watching them evolve as a band has been interesting, how they have moved to a full sound, one that reflects great rock bands from the 80s.  Every album has some stand out, full-bodied track to love: Hot Fuss with “All These Things”; Sam’s Town with “Why Do I Keep Dancing?”; Day and Age with “Dustland Fairytale.”  All of those songs build well and crescendo in a way that my favorite song from Battle Born does not.

The first track from the album, “Runaways,” will be the song that gets all of the radio airplay.  The song “Be Still” will be the song that gets all of my iPod airplay.  Unlike those great songs that build so well to a full sound, “Be Still” is a wonderfully ruminative piece that captures Brandon Flowers’ voice wonderfully and that uses some turns of familiar phrases to say something true well.  I’d write some of the lyrics here, but I don’t want to give away your discovery of the song.

You can hear the song here and buy it over at the iTunes store.

And if a fuller sound is what you really want, here’s the official video for “Runaways” in all of its old-school glory.