The Killers | Underneath The Radar

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If you were expecting another glitzy, new-wave Hot Fuss, put your Duran Duran comparisons back in the wardrobe and keep moving folks.

This is Brandon Flowers at his most reflective on last year's Pressure Machine, a stunning concept album that searches for answers on the right and wrong side of the tracks in small-town America ... specifically Flowers home-town Nephi, Utah

But as Yesteryear found out this could be set in any little dorp, anywhere in the world...

A character study in the finest traditions of Springsteen's Nebraska, the Killers deftly paint a series of short stories on a musical canvas of stark beauty.

They still roll-out the trademark synths and melodic guitars on several standout tracks (Quiet Town, In The Car Outside and In Another Life) but it's on the showstopper ballads and mid-tempo numbers that Flowers incredible vocal range really shines.

The title track, 'Pressure Machine', is an achingly nostalgic song that stays with you long after the needle lifts.

"Keep the debt cloud off the kids. Only sunshine on their lids. Jiminy Cricket and Power Wheels. And memories of Happy Meals"

And his duet with Phoebe Bridgers, 'Runaway Horses', gently explores everyday life in small town America, but it could be anywhere really.

"Small town girl, put your dreams on ice, never thinking twice. Some you'll surely forget. And some that you never will"

It's not always an easy listen, but it does make you think.

Yesteryear grew up in a little Aussie dorp of 1500 where the sheep easily outnumbered people and there was a pub on every corner. There wasn't much to do, but we seemed to get by.

We had the railway track that ran through the middle of town, just like Nephi. And we had guys just like our old man, who worked for 45 years up and down those tracks, possibly harbouring visions of something more meaningful, but never complaining, because there were 9 kids to feed.

Some people got up and left as soon as they could. But there were many that were never going to leave. This was their home. And they would stay rooted to that patch of dirt until they shuffled of this mortal coil.

The Killers 'Pressure Machine' captures this notion beautifully and without judgement. Flowers obviously got up and left to chase his dreams in Vegas. Some of his mates stayed. But you get the sense that he respects that.

This is a storybook meant to be absorbed in one sitting. And definitely an album that slipped underneath the radar in 2021.

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