The Killers will look inward and backward for their upcoming seventh full-length studio album, Pressure Machine. The band announced on Monday (July 19) that the “quieter, character-study-driven” collection co-produced by the band, Shawn Everett and Foxygen’s Jonathan Rado — who worked together on the band’s 2020 Imploding the Mirage album — is, in part a reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown that cut the Mirage promo run short.
“Everything came to this grinding halt. And it was the first time in a long time for me that I was faced with silence,” said singer Brandon Flowers in a statement. “And out of that silence this record began to bloom, full of songs that would have otherwise been too quiet and drowned out by the noise of typical Killers records.”
The album is described as a view into the “everyday realities of a small American town with a stark, tough beauty, and The Killers’ most restrained and resonant album yet.” The release noted that the collection was inspired by Flowers’ hometown of Nephi, Utah — described as a “close-knit community of 5,300 people with no traffic lights, a rubber plant, wheat fields, and the West Hills.” Flowers lived in Nephi from ages 10 to 16, and the album’s songs are based on his memories and stories about the people that impacted him growing up, with comments from current Nephi locals interspersed throughout.
“I discovered this grief that I hadn’t dealt with,” said Flowers, who, for the first time in his career completed the lyrics before tracking any music. “Many memories of my time in Nephi are tender. But the ones tied to fear or great sadness were emotionally charged. I’ve got more understanding now than when we started the band, and hopefully I was able to do justice to these stories and these lives in this little town that I grew up in.”
Drummer Ronnie Vannucci Jr. added, “We were discussing [Brandon] moving to Nephi as a kid and being stuck in the middle of nowhere. And during COVID-19, it started to feel like we were all in the middle of nowhere.”
Pressure Machine finds Flowers stepping “into the shoes of some of the people whose lives he watched unfold as a teen,” reads the release.
“The album weaves the threads of Flowers’ signature lyricism throughout his career into a perfect whole culminating in the most elegant album The Killers have ever made. Through its characters and also its title, the album squares up to the unbending pressure of the American dream compounded by religious disenchantment. A born optimist, moments of beauty inevitably shine out of the grief of Flowers’s songs: the healing arrival of summer, the first crop of hay, sweeter skies.”
In June, one of Flowers’ biggest songwriting inspirations, Bruce Springsteen, joined the band for a reimagined version of “A Dustland Fairytale” — re-dubbed “Dustland” — an emotional track originally from the group’s 2008 Day & Age album and said to be The Boss’ favorite Killers song.
The Killers will hit the road for a Pressure and Mirage tour in 2022, with tickets on sale beginning on Friday (July 23) at 10 a.m. local time through the band’s website. The band previewed the album in a one-minute trailer featuring the voices from the community talking about their hometown. Check out the trailer and tour dates below.
Killers 2022 tour dates:
Aug. 19 — Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena
Aug. 20 — Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena
Aug. 21 — Portland, OR @ Moda Center
Aug. 23 — San Francisco, CA @ Chase Center
Aug. 24 — San Diego, CA @ Pechanga Arena
Aug. 26 — Las Vegas, NV @ T-Mobile Arena
Aug. 27 — Los Angeles, CA @ Banc of California Stadium
Aug. 30 — Salt Lake City, UT @ Vivint Arena
Aug. 31 — Denver, CO @ Ball Arena
Sept. 8 — Houston, TX @ Toyota Center
Sept. 9 — Austin, TX @ Moody Center
Sept. 10 — Fort Worth, TX @ Dickies Arena
Sept. 13 — Miami, FL @ FTX Arena
Sept. 14 — Orlando, FL @ Amway Center
Sept. 16 — Atlanta, GA @ State Farm Arena
Sept. 17 — Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena
Sept. 18 — St. Louis, MO @ Chaifetz Arena
Sept. 20 — St. Paul MN @ Xcel Energy Center
Sept. 21 — Chicago, IL @ United Center
Sept. 23 — Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena
Sept. 24 — Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre
Sept. 25 — Verona, NY @ Turning Stone Event Center
Sept. 29 — Washington, DC @ Capital One Arena
Sept. 30 — New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
Oct. 1 — New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
Oct. 3 — Boston, MA @ TD Garden
Oct. 4 — University Park, PA @ Bryce Jordan Center
Oct. 6 — Pittsburgh, PA @ Petersen Events Center
Oct. 7 — Cleveland, OH @ Wolstein Center
Oct. 8 — Detroit, MI @ Little Caesars Arena
