Meg Washington (aka Washington, Megan Washington) has released a new album, a covers record in which she performs The Killers‘ 2004 debut Hot Fuss (almost) in full. On her version, Washington eschews the arena-sized indie rock of the original, stripping songs like ‘Mr. Brightside’ and ‘All These Things That I’ve Done’ down to their barest elements, her vocals primarily accompanied by sparse piano.
Washington produced the album alongside Danny Harley (The Kite String Tangle), with flourishes of nylon string guitar from Jack Colwell and trumpet and flugelhorn courtesy of Edward Fairlie. “There’s sparkling crystal in these songs,” Washington wrote on Instagram when announcing the album. “What began as piano practice turned into covering the entire [Killers] debut record.”
Listen to Meg Washington’s Hot Fuss
Hot Fuss marks Washington’s first album since she released Batflowers back in 2020. That record came six years after her sophomore record, 2014’s There There, which followed her 2010 debut, I Believe You, Liar.
“I want this record to be an invitation,” Washington said of Batflowers when speaking to Music Feeds back in 2020. “I just really wanted to make something that had enough layers, that was full and complete enough that people could come back to more than once and find new things inside the songs.”
The Killers, meanwhile, are currently in Australia touring in support of 2020’s Imploding the Mirage and last year’s Pressure Machine. They’ll play Hope Estate in the Hunter Valley on Saturday (17th December) before wrapping up the run with two shows in Sydney on Monday night (19th December) – after performing at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena, they’ll rush to the newly-opened Liberty Hall for an intimate, late-nite gig.
Further Reading
Megan Washington All But Quit Pop Music, Then Came Batflowers
The Killers Are Playing an Intimate Sydney Show Next Week
Watch Bruce Springsteen Join The Killers During Madison Square Garden Show
