Brandon Flowers Teams With Jenny Lewis on Solo Disc 'Flamingo'

Brandon Flowers has admitted he didn't plan to release his next batch of songs on a solo record, but when the rest of the Killers decided to go on "indefinite hiatus" following the long tour in support of Day & Age, the singer decided he wasn't ready to take a vacation from music just yet.

"To be honest, I personally would prefer it if this was a Killers record. Some of these songs were originally destined to be Killers songs, but it is what it is," Flowers told the NME about tracks including "Hard Enough" and "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas." "I certainly never sat around dreaming of going out on my own, but singing songs and writing songs, it's kind of what I do, you know? And I just don't want to stop right now."

Instead of stopping, Flowers teamed up with three of the biggest producers in music for Flamingo, due this fall: Brendon O'Brien, Daniel Lanois and Stuart Price, who also produced the Killers' Day & Age. The album will also feature a duet with Jenny Lewis — who like the Killers' Ronnie Vannucci was born in Las Vegas — on "Hard Enough."

Flowers also put to rest any rumors that his first solo album would be the beginning of the end of the Killers, telling NME, "I see this as something that will only make the Killers stronger... I feel like I'm getting something out of my system with this album, but I want the next Killers album to be a wonderful collaboration between four guys who are ready to make the best record that they possibly can."

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Song Stories

“Time to Pretend”

MGMT | 2008

Listening to MGMT’s breakthrough song, one might interpret it as being about the excesses of rock stardom, but it’s actually about the duo’s pet praying mantis. Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden told Rolling Stone they got the idea from the insect's jerky movements. The mantis died, but the two bandmates kept the egg sack and allowed the hundreds of eggs to hatch. “We tried to name them all, but they died after a day,” said Goldwasser, with VanWyngarden chiming in, “But the praying mantis dance inspired us.”

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