Brandon Flowers looked into the mirror and realized he didn't want to be a cowboy anymore. He didn't want to be a neon-drenched rockstar from a futuristic Vegas, either. By 2017, the world had plenty of stadium anthems like "Mr. Brightside." What it didn't have was a record that laid bare the terrifying, quiet reality of a marriage under pressure. That is exactly what we got with Wonderful Wonderful, the fifth studio album by The Killers. It’s a strange, loud, and deeply vulnerable piece of work that often gets overshadowed by the bombast of Hot Fuss or the Americana of Sam’s Town. But if you’re looking for the soul of the band, this is where it lives.
It had been five years since Battle Born. Five years is an eternity in the music industry. The band was fractured. Bassist Mark Stoermer had stepped back from touring. Guitarist Dave Keuning was also leaning away from the road. This left Brandon Flowers and drummer Ronnie Vannucci Jr. to carry the torch. When Wonderful Wonderful finally arrived, it didn't sound like a band playing it safe. It sounded like a band trying to survive.
The Shell Shock of Modernity
The title track opens the album with a bass line that feels like a warning. It’s menacing. "Wonderful Wonderful" (the song) uses biblical imagery—the "motherless child" and the "drought"—to set a scene that feels more like a desert apocalypse than a pop record. It's an invitation into a very specific kind of mental space. Honestly, it's a bit jarring if you're coming straight from the glitz of their earlier hits.
Mark Knopfler even makes a guest appearance on "Have All the Songs Been Written?" which is a question Brandon was legitimately asking himself. He had writer's block. He was struggling with the weight of his wife Tana’s battle with complex PTSD. You can hear that exhaustion in the tracks. It’s not just a collection of songs; it’s a document of a man trying to be a provider and a healer while his own career feels like it’s shifting under his feet.
Then you have "The Man."
It’s hilarious. It’s arrogant. It’s a total 180-degree turn from the rest of the album's somber tone. Flowers is essentially making fun of his younger self—the guy who thought he was the greatest thing to ever happen to rock music back in 2004. The funk-driven beat and the swaggering lyrics are a "fake it 'til you make it" anthem that serves as a necessary mask for the vulnerability elsewhere. It’s the highest-charting song on the record for a reason. It’s catchy as hell, but it’s also a satirical look at toxic masculinity before that was a buzzword everyone used every five seconds.
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Why Wonderful Wonderful Divided the Fanbase
The Killers have always been a bit of a polarizing band. You either love the earnestness or you find it cheesy. With Wonderful Wonderful, the divide became even more pronounced. Some fans wanted more "Runaways." Instead, they got "The Calling," a track narrated by actor Woody Harrelson reading from the Bible. It’s weird. It’s theatrical. It’s very Brandon Flowers.
The production, handled largely by Jacknife Lee, is dense. It’s polished but heavy. Some critics at the time, including those at Pitchfork and Rolling Stone, noted that the album felt like it was pulling in several directions at once. You have the disco-strut of "The Man" sitting right next to "Rut," a song written from the perspective of Flowers' wife.
"Rut" is perhaps the most important song on the album. It’s a plea for patience. When Flowers sings "Don't give up on me, 'cause I'm just in a rut," he’s not talking about a creative slump. He’s talking about a mental health crisis. It’s incredibly brave to put that on a record that you’re expected to play in sold-out arenas. Most rock stars want to seem untouchable. Flowers wanted to seem like a guy who stays up late worrying about his family.
Breaking Down the Sonic Shifts
The record doesn't follow a linear path. If you look at the tracklist, it’s a rollercoaster of energy levels.
- The Highs: "The Man" and "Run For Cover." The latter was actually a leftover from the Day & Age sessions, which explains why it feels more like "classic" Killers. It’s fast, political, and punchy.
- The Lows (Emotionally): "Some Kind of Love" and "Rut." These are atmospheric, synth-heavy, and intentionally slow. They force you to listen to the lyrics.
- The Weird Middle: "Tyson vs. Douglas." This track uses the 1990 heavyweight fight where Buster Douglas knocked out Mike Tyson as a metaphor for watching your heroes—or your father—fall. It’s a brilliant concept that most people miss because the hook is so massive.
The Struggle of a Fractured Band
We have to talk about the lineup. By the time Wonderful Wonderful was being recorded, Dave Keuning and Mark Stoermer were barely there. This wasn't a secret. It’s part of why the album feels so much like a Brandon Flowers solo project disguised as a Killers record.
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Ronnie Vannucci Jr. is the unsung hero here. His drumming provides the backbone that keeps the whole thing from floating off into synth-pop space. He and Brandon spent countless hours in the studio in Las Vegas and Los Angeles, just trying to find a sound that felt "right" for where they were in their thirties. They weren't kids in a garage anymore. They were dads with mortgages and real-world problems.
This tension is actually what makes the album work. It’s the sound of a band transitioning. You can hear the fingerprints of Pressure Machine (their much later, even more stripped-back album) starting to form here. Wonderful Wonderful was the bridge. It was the moment they realized they didn't have to write "Mr. Brightside" over and over again to stay relevant.
Impact and Legacy: Was It a Success?
In terms of the charts, absolutely. It was their first album to hit Number 1 on the Billboard 200 in the United States. Think about that for a second. Hot Fuss didn't do that. Sam's Town didn't do that. It took them fifteen years to finally top the US charts with their most experimental and personal record.
But "success" is a tricky word. For many casual listeners, this album didn't have the staying power of their earlier work. You don't hear "Life to Come" played at weddings. You don't hear "Out of My Mind" in every grocery store. But for the hardcore fans, Wonderful Wonderful offered something better: a connection. It proved that The Killers were willing to grow up with their audience.
The Gear and the Sound
If you’re a gear head, this album is a goldmine. They leaned heavily into vintage synths and a "wall of sound" approach that Jacknife Lee is famous for. They used everything from the Yamaha CP-80 to the Prophet-5. The goal was to create a soundscape that felt both nostalgic and alien.
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They also recorded at several different studios, including Battle Born Studios in Vegas and Jacknife’s own studio in Topanga. This geographical hopping contributed to the album's slightly disjointed feel, but in a way that serves the theme of searching for a home or a sense of stability.
How to Appreciate Wonderful Wonderful Today
If you haven't listened to the record in a while, or if you skipped it because you heard it was "different," you need to give it another shot. Don't go into it expecting a Vegas party. Go into it expecting a therapy session with a very loud backing band.
Start with "Tyson vs. Douglas." It’s the perfect entry point. It has the big Killers energy but with the lyrical depth that defines this specific era. Then move to "Run For Cover" to get your rock fix. Finally, sit in a dark room and listen to "Wonderful Wonderful" (the track) from start to finish. Notice the way the bass interacts with the atmospheric noise. It’s masterfully done.
Actionable Steps for the Ultimate Listen:
- Listen in Sequence: This isn't a "shuffle" album. The transition from the ego of "The Man" into the vulnerability of "Rut" is the entire point of the narrative arc.
- Read the Lyrics: Especially for "Some Kind of Love." It samples Brian Eno’s "An Ending (Ascent)," and the lyrics are actually a tribute to Brandon’s wife, using words of encouragement her own children might say to her. It’s heartbreakingly beautiful.
- Watch the Live Performances: Check out their 2017 Glastonbury set or their performances from the Wonderful Wonderful world tour. You can see the physical toll and the passion Flowers puts into these songs. It changes how you hear the studio versions.
- Compare to Later Work: If you like the storytelling in Pressure Machine, come back to this record and see where those seeds were planted. You’ll find that "Wonderful Wonderful" was the first time Brandon really learned how to tell someone else’s story with the same fervor he used for his own.
The Killers didn't need to make this album. They could have toured the world playing the hits and made millions. Instead, they made a record about PTSD, aging, and the fear of losing your spark. It might not be their "best" album according to the critics, but it is undeniably their most human. It’s the record that saved the band by allowing them to be honest.