Pressure Machine
by The Killers

The Killers best album in years

Probably the best I've heard from The Killers in a long time, but they're still not that great.

I appreciate their attempt to make their own Nebraska. It's a nice layered recording with a nice sparse center. Even the melodies and hooks are the best from The Killers for a long time.

The shot in the foot is the lyrics. The songs are packed with cliched, overly sentimental and almost cartoonist interpretations about the small-town life. That type of music has already been mastered by singer-songwriters like Bruce Springsteen, Nanci Griffith, John Prine, Mary Chapin-Carpenter, and Slobberbone.

The best contemporary example is The Menzingers, who are able to wrap their sentimental and nostalgic nature in melodies and edgy guitars that aren't over the top. Like Lady Gaga is superior to her precursor Madonna, The Menzingers surpass The Killers in every way.

But it was decent and if the lyrics and melodies improve The Killers will continue to turn heads.

Brandon Flowers love letter to and portrait of small town America. Honest and heartbreaking, Pressure Machine shows the daily lives of people doing their best, dealing with addiction, identity, love and family.

Their most restrained and emotional album. This is The Killers finding their soul and this is their Nebraska moment.

From Brad1770 11/04/2021 10:55 | #275831

Killers career phase 1.0 saw them crash into our world and quickly become one of the biggest bands on the planet on the back of the ridiculously good ‘Hot Fuss’ and ‘Sam’s Town’. Phase 2.0 was the disappointing mid career slump with the disappointing ‘Day & Age’ and ‘Battle Born’ and this is where I kinda lost interest in The Killers convinced the best was behind them. That was until 2017’s wonderfully wonderful ‘Wonderful Wonderful’ which would kick off Killers 3.0 in fine style, then last years ‘Imploding the Mirage’ continued the excellence bringing us up to 2021 and ‘Pressure Machine’ and god damn it Brandon Flowers and co have done it again, and this one is probably the best of the lot which really is the highest compliment considering how high these guys have set the bar over the past 17 years

This isn’t your typical Killers album full of anthemic big sounds, rather a down to earth reflection of Flowers roots growing up in Nephi, Utah. But this is no heart felt love letter rather its an honest warts and all expose of the harsh realities of small town life full of economic hardships, domestic violence, substance abuse, suicides and hopeless desolation with no escape . Every song tells a story, every sound grab capture’s the mood and paints a mind picture of the sad character behind the voice

It’s one of those albums where there’s real beauty in the train wreck subject matter and put simply is the best album in 2021. Brandon Flowers and The Killers will never release a more poignant album for our troubled times

This album definitely took me by surprise, I didn’t expect to enjoy it nearly as much as I did. It perfectly encapsulates small town America. 8/10

I didn't expect to enjoy a Killers album from the year 2021... but look what happened. This is great.

Hands down their most brilliant and beautiful work they have put out since Sam's Town. Almost too good to be true with tracks like Quiet Town and In The Car Outside. Some of Flower's and band's most intimate and personal work yet.

From pjohnsongolf 08/14/2021 17:56 | #272523

The Killers Most Cohesive Album Yet


A lot of people’s biggest problem with the Killers is their lack of album flow and consistency. The biggest example of this is Hot Fuss. The first side of the album is LOADED with hit after hit and contains some of the best music of the early 2000s. Only to be followed by a second side that isn’t terrible by any means but compared to the first side it’s like comparing Nikes to Reeboks. With Pressure Machine the Killers have finally made an album that works together throughout the entire runtime.

Instead of the indie pop and pop rock that is typical of the band that has gotten a little bit old they lean more into a folkier Heartland Rock. In my opinion this change in sound suits them and is very refreshing coming from them. The opener West Hills has already became one of my favorites from them and showcases the sound in a great way. There are some moments on here that get a little dull and boring but there are some excellent tracks that pull it up.

This is also a concept album which is also new for the band. Brandon Flowers grew in a small town in Utah called Nephi. Throughout the album there are clippings and interviews from various people in the town. In Flowers lyrics he details different stories and perspectives of people in this said town. These all showcase not only what it’s like growing up in Nephi, Utah but also all small towns in general. Growing up in a small town in Idaho I relate a lot to this.

With a cohesive concept album The Killers have released a great modern album that I will definitely return to often. And also they didn’t mess up the Phoebe Bridgers feature.