“Boy” by The Killers

"Boy" found the Killers going their own way in 2022, a stand-alone single that the following year kicked off the campaign for Rebel Diamonds, the band's second hits collection. It predates Pressure Machine, but its sound and style didn't sit with that record, so it waited its turn. By Brandon Flowers' account it was the first song they came up with after the pandemic killed the Imploding the Mirage tour.

Flowers called it a new wave vehicle, and it rides that way: Stuart Price on guitar and bass, Ronnie Vannucci Jr. on drums, Flowers out front singing advice he meant for himself and his sons, to quit overthinking and watch for the signs pointing the right way. He heard optimism in it, a song stuck in the dirt with its eyes on the sky; Vannucci just called it more polished. Boris Vassallo directed the video.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.