Pressure Machine

The new album from The Killers & a few other summer picks

My friends, thanks for joining me as we roll into a Pure Michigan weekend. As I talked about in my Wednesday newsletter, I had quite the saga getting back to Michigan by way of Washington, D.C., complete with two cancelled flights. Normally though, I try to deliver these music-menswear-craft beer dispatches every Tuesday and Saturday (and I publish daily on my style blog, The Style Guide!), so if you’re just joining us, feel free to subscribe below (at no cost!).

Over on my blog this weekend, I’m talking about menswear and gear deals aplenty, but I’ve also been diving deep in the music space writing for sites like The Line of Best Fit. That brings me to the real topic of today’s (somewhat) abbreviated newsletter: The latest album from The Killers, “Pressure Machine.” The band took a long, hard look back at the past on this stunning and soul-stirring album, packed with future Killers classics like “In The Car Outside,” but at the same time featuring the most quiet and introspective music the Las Vegas band has ever put out. For more on some of these new songs, check out my Esquire interview with Brandon Flowers himself from earlier this year (he called making the new album a “renaissance.”

The LP itself is sweeping in its reach, taking a Springsteen-esque approach to quiet songwriting and intense, real-life storytelling featuring plenty of snippets from Flowers’ past growing up in Nephi, Utah. As to how it stacks up to last year’s soaring “Imploding The Mirage,” well, it’s tough to rank two records that represent the band’s best two-album stretch since, say “Sam’s Town” and “Day and Age” … just my take! I’ll get into it more below, but it’s a perfect opportunity to consider where this band has come from and where they’re going. It’s a concept I’m going to have on my mind this week ahead while spending time with family and friends in Michigan, in the best way possible. For now, listen carefully and dive on in — naturally, you can also expect a few other picks inspired by The Killers, but let’s talk music first and foremost.

What To Listen To This Week: “Pressure Machine” By The Killers

Need I say more? Any time an album puts Flowers’ insights on his past front and center, it’s bound to be stunning. And any album by The Killers that also features Phoebe Bridgers is next-level, to say the least. This is an album meant to be experienced in full, all at once, hence the deep concept behind it (the record even uses audio captured from residents of Nephi). It’s absolutely fascinating coming from a band that fills up stadiums across the globes with goosebumps-worthy anthems, but it’s also a testament to the deep body of work and the skill of Flowers, drummer Ronnie Vannucci Jr. and their frequent co-producers Shawn Everett and Jonathan Rado (Everett has also worked with another favorite of mine, The War On Drugs). I’m absolutely going to be diving deeper into this album this weekend, but for now, I know we’re truly blessed to be experiencing this all-time great band in real-time.

I’ll keep the rest of this newsletter brief with a few quick hits, in the spirit of summer vacation.

• To shop this week, consider buying a pocket tee that Brandon Flowers would surely approve of (note promo shots for the new album!).

• To sip this weekend, go right ahead and order up some fresh small-batch coffee, all the better to sip on as you listen to “Pressure Machine.”

• And as one last pick, get a pair of Levi’s jeans that Brandon Flowers recommends himself (see my Esquire interview for the full scoop!).

OK, folks. That’s all I’ve got for you today. I’ve got some Michigan beer to drink and more of “Pressure Machine” to play on repeat. Cheers!