"Shot at the Night" | ||||||||
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Single by The Killers | ||||||||
from the album Direct Hits | ||||||||
Released | September 17, 2013 | |||||||
Format | Digital download | |||||||
Recorded | 2013 | |||||||
Genre | New wave, electronica, synthpop, R&B | |||||||
Length | 4:02 | |||||||
Label | Island | |||||||
Writer(s) | The Killers | |||||||
Producer(s) | Anthony Gonzalez | |||||||
The Killers singles chronology | ||||||||
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"Shot at the Night" is a song by American rock band The Killers. The song serves as the lead single from the band's second compilation album, Direct Hits. The track was unveiled on September 16, 2013, the 10th anniversary of the band's first London show, and sent immediately to mainstream radio.
The song was produced by M83's Anthony Gonzalez, who had supported the band on their Day & Age World Tour. Island Records subsequently suggested Gonzalez as a possible producer for the band, following the success of M83's sixth studio album, Hurry Up, We're Dreaming (2011). Guitarist Dave Keuning noted, "There was a mutual thing like, 'Yeah we think he's good. We'll try him out.' It's something we finally agreed with our label on."
Regarding the band's collaboration with Gonzalez, vocalist Brandon Flowers stated, "He's one of these new school producers. He's a technical wizard, but you can't discount his musicality. A lot of people do, because of the involvement of computers, but he's a real musician, too. He and Stuart Price may be known for working on the digital side of things, but they're also two of the most musical guys I've ever met."
The song has received positive reviews from music critics. NME listed it top of their "10 tracks you have to hear this week 18/09/13", noting "it's a fittingly triumphant mix of Gonzalez's glittering synth-pop and The Killers' own huge-hearted bombast", adding "it has a euphoric chorus that's as reminiscent of '80s power-pop as the anthemic indie that Nevada's finest have become renowned for."Spin found the track to be a "space-age jewel — with its sparkling electronics, chest-thumping chorus, and Midnight City-reared percussion".Rolling Stone believed the song ventures into "the fantasia of Eighties pop-rock soundtracks, dripping with hair spray, swaddled in the fog of dry ice", and concluded the song was "solid", and later listed "Shot at the Night" as the hundredth best song of the year.