Album Review: Direct Hits by The Killers

Almost ten years after "Mr. Brightside" helped turn the Killers into new millennial rock sensations, the time has come for a hits collection. Calling the compilation Direct Hits -- a punning title that feels timeless but has rarely been used before, a nifty encapsulation of the group's style and attributes -- the Killers cannily use the singles-centric conceit to showcase the band at their overblown best, emphasizing their arena-sized neo-new wave just slightly over their Springsteenisms.

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You can let silly facts get in the way of seeing Direct Hits as one of the most hotly anticipated records of the past 10 years. Sure, the Killers have technically released four albums and a collection of miscellany that have sold over 20 million copies worldwide and the cool reception to last year’s kinda OK Battle Born suggests their days as a A-list rock band are pretty much over. But c0me on, we knew from the start that was all going to be irrelevant prelude at some point.

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To the eager and uninitiated listener, the greatest hits album can be the key to a world of back catalogue discovery and future musical obsession. However, for many of us they remain shallow testaments to long-form creative achievement which remove whimsy, exorcise context and rewrites the past with nothing but glories. Generally the arrival of a best of heralds one of two things: 1.

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opinion byJESSE NEE-VOGELMAN This isn’t a collection meant for anyone trying to “get into” the Killers, or discover anything new about the band. However, seeing as they’ve only ever released singles and filler, the Killers’ limited discography is perfect for the compilation format. As Direct Hits suggests, it’s just a quick way to get to what’s relevant about them, an I.V.

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