Written By Tom Bedding
The Killers are one of 21st century rocks most beloved acts, even if the band have dropped their standards a lot since their heyday. However on album number seven, the band go to town with Heartland Rock and deliver a top notch record that looks back at the frontman's home town.
Brandon Flowers goes into the finer detail of life in Utah, who are not as fully devoted to Mormonism on the opening number. The dramatic answer machine in the opening seconds, delivers individual stories and thoughts from where the bands frontman is from, before subtle pianos and strings comes into force in a slight Neil Young way. ‘West Hills’ has some fine guitar work and as it progresses, the arena rock style of the band enters with some crashing electric guitars and a fitting vocal delivery by Flowers.
Sinister tones follows around the new wave inspired song, ‘Quiet Town’. With the synth embellishments in the background, The Killers shine over this simple melody as they elegantly play a Smiths meets Bruce guitar part and Flowers talking about how a train accident that happened when he was a kid, which felt like the end of his childhood. Again there is a very Young undertone with this song as the harmonica is used brilliantly to reinforce this American hometown atmosphere. The Killers always seem to be reaching out for the next big single with everything they do, however hear we have the group simply aiming to strive for the song to be the best it can with its own world.
It is humbling to hear this iconic band to talk about the hometown/heartland experiences, it makes The Killers feel a lot more relatable than ever before. On ‘Terrible Thing’, we are told about a boy from Brandon Flowers’ old high school who came out as gay later in life, with the lead singer going into what his experience could have been like in a un-liberal American town. The track is touching and as mentioned, we are truly experiencing the guys in a way that feels so much more reachable than on their last few albums.
Another voice mail intro starts ‘Cody’, setting the tone of a song about friends older brothers who have taken different turns in life. An 80’s indie melody sounds lovely within the acoustic instrumentation, offering some elegant but earthy touches that matches the ‘going back to my roots’ tales found on ‘Pressure Machine’. A surprising but highly impressive guitar solo arrives in the song, the grittiness of it gets under your skin and unexpectedly gives the song a dramatic conclusion. You have to say, its great to witness The Killers realising that they don’t need all the bells and whistles but in fact letting their musicianship and melodies do the talking.
The Killers are famous for their beginnings in Vegas but the bands frontman is originally from Utah, who has moved to his home state in recent years. His experience from being in a place that is either hot or colder to experiencing actual seasons, influenced the inception of ‘Sleepwalker’. It is a nice song with an okay melody and imaginative lyrics but it does not hit the mark as the earlier tracks, maybe their ambition to always have mid-tempo and dramatic arena songs has let them down here.
The calling of home is spoken a lot about on ‘Runaway Horses’, which features the indie favourite, Phoebe Bridgers. The guitar picking is gorgeous and when Bridgers comes in with her harmonising, you are sent away to such a tranquil place that many have credited as such a ‘Bridgers thing’ right now. The two singers work together so wonderfully and the elegant movement by the rest of the band really backs the two well, giving us such a great highlight on the record.
Some recognisable synths arrive on ‘In The Car Outside’, which includes a great bass line and a very Springsteen melody (it may annoy you potentially). Then on ‘In Another Life’, the mood drops to a very personal and deep moment for an individual. Flowers penned down lyrics about a man who questions about his past decisions and how his own wife could be thinking about herself personally and even about him. It is a very personal and dark moment for sure, tackling into a worry that many have felt as life goes on.
As the album concludes, the darker tones carry on ‘Desperate Things’, that shows off Brandon Flowers ability to tell a story within his music. The guitar line is good and the subtle drum work is really effective, yet potentially the song goes on a tad. Then, the title track tackles the concept of growing up and the battle of how quickly goes. Here we have a very good track by the band, with its lovely guitar work and Flowers singing ‘keep the debt cloud of kids, only sunshine on their lids, Jimmy Cricket and Power Wheels and memories of Happy Meals’. The Killers sounding rather wholesome is something I want more of, you can feel that warmth in that light guitar solo during the middle eight so much.
I get that the voice notes build up the songs concept well but I do wish, that there are versions without them. However after they finish, songs like the closer ‘The Getting By’ are pretty good and finish this entire album in a humble fashion. Again the hometown spirt is felt here in the melody and backing vocals here really goes along way, it makes it feel so home like.
'Pressure Machine' is indeed an impressive and significant release by the American band. The Killers have offered their best work in many years, giving us a more stripped back and reflective side to them that makes them feel more human like for the first since their earlier work.
Bring Me The Music Recommended Tracks: Quiet Town, Terrible Thing, Runaway Horses and Pressure Machine
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