Brandon Flowers

The Killers frontman on why he’s sick of lying to audiences, and why his Mormon faith is misunderstood

- Andy Greene

IT’S BEEN 13 YEARS SINCE THE Killers exploded with their debut single, “Mr. Brightside,” and they’re still one of the biggest rock acts in the world; the Las Vegas band just headlined Lollapalooza and has an arena tour kicking off in January. “There’s still a need for what we have to offer, obviously,” says front man Brandon Flowers. “Our shows keep growing, and the tours just keep getting more fun.” He sees their upcoming album, Wonderful Wonderful (overseen by veteran U2 and R.E.M. producer Jacknife Lee), as an improvement from their last one, 2012’s Battle Born. “We worked on that incrementally with different producers,” Flowers says. “Some of the songs I’m not so enthused about.” Wonderful Wonderful is more upbeat, with danceable tunes about everything from Mike Tyson’s historic 1990 loss to Buster Douglas (“Tyson vs. Douglas”) to Flowers’ content life as a father of three, which, he says, hasn’t gotten in the way of creativity: “I still have the fire.”

On your new single “The Man,” you sing, “I got a household name. . . . Don’t try to teach me, got nothing to learn.” Are you singing about your cocky younger self right after the Killers broke?