The Killers Release New Concept Album Pressure Machine Album
The idea of a concept album can either intrigue you or turn you off. It’s an idea that doesn’t always work, doesn’t always stick to the plan, and doesn’t always deliver. But, The Killers went for it anyway and on Pressure Machine, Brandon Flowers and company dive into 11 story songs from the same starting point: Sad Small Town.
The result of the concentration on that sad small town that feels like quicksand with no way out is 50+ minutes of music that isn’t Mr. Brightside. This isn’t happy-go-lucky. This is ‘listen and imagine the heartbreaking movie that could go along with it.’
Flowers and The Killers have always held Bruce Springsteen as an influence on their music. But on Pressure Machine, you can almost taste it. There’s also some Neil Young in there too. It is more storyteller and less pop. More poetry and less glitz and glamour and Las Vegas. And none of that’s not a bad thing. It’s good to find influence in good music!
And while we’re talking about other artists, we’ve got to shout out Phoebe Bridgers and her contributions to Runaway Horses. The softness she and Brandon Flowers sing together with is sweet and also sad and hits me. I like it a lot.
The Killers with Phoebe Bridgers – Runaway Horses
I think that what I like about Pressure Machine is that as a concept album it isn’t all about the same person in a ‘this all happened to me’ narrative perspective. It’s more standing in the middle of town and watching everyone that walks by and getting their stories. And that means we don’t get a wasted song (or more) trying to tell a story that doesn’t need to be told to fill out a tracklist telling the story of one person’s life.
I’m not sure this album is a strong advertisement for the Nephi, Utah Chamber of Commerce or local tourism. But it certainly paints a picture and is going to give people an image in their head of what the small town 80 miles south of Salt Lake City has to offer. It’s also going to hit home for people that feel the same way about their small towns no matter where they might be.
Related: Throwback – The Killers at WayHome 2016!
No album is for everyone, and it’s going to be hard for The Killers to ever measure up to Sam’s Town – but Pressure Machine does a good job of being what it is instead of chasing something else. Already people are calling it the band’s best effort since their 2006 high-water mark. Have a listen for yourself by hitting play on the stream now, and make your own mind up about that.
The Killers, Pressure Machine Tracklist
1. West Hills
2. Quiet Town
3. Terrible Thing
4. Cody
5. Sleepwalker
6. Runaway Horses
7. In The Car Outside
8. In Another Life
9. Desperate Things
10. Pressure Machine
11. The Getting By
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