The Killers

There's an old adage that says good things come in small packages. And it looks like the Killers are big believers in that little theory. Early Monday morning (July 10), the Killers announced that they'd be premiering a snippet of "When You Were Young" — the first single from their hotly anticipated new album — via the Internet, weeks before the song goes to radio and a full three months before their album hits stores.

Starting at 5 p.m. ET Monday, fans can get a taste — and only a taste — of "When You Were Young" at IslandRecords.com. It's the first chance to hear music from the Killers' still-untitled — and decidedly more "American" sounding — new album, produced by Alan Moulder and Flood.

When MTV News spoke with Killers' frontman Brandon Flowers in early May, his band was still roughly a month away from completing the recording sessions for the follow-up to Hot Fuss, but he was already lining up potential first singles. It was a decision he and his bandmates were weighing very carefully. After all, they know just how important this single is.

"We have six possible singles, but the first one is still kind of up in the air," Flowers said. "It's a big decision, and you have to be careful with it. Of course you want people to know it's the Killers, but you also want to blow them away. It's a tough place to be right now, because the last few bands that put out a second album — bands like Franz Ferdinand or Hot Hot Heat — they seem to go away so quickly. And that's a little bit scary, but you just have to have faith in your songs."

And when asked just what he thought fans would think of the new Killers' tunes, Flowers was his old self: cautiously cocky — minus the whole "cautiously" part.

"I'd like to think people will like it. Because we're still entertainers, and people still want a good show," he said. "I love to write a good line or a melody, and that's important, but we're still entertainers. And hopefully we'll be entertaining lots of people."

The Killers' new album is due in October.