Las Vegas rockers The Killers have announced their seventh studio album Pressure Machine, coming Aug. 13 on Island Records. The band reunited with their Imploding the Mirage collaborators Shawn Everett and Jonathan Rado (Foxygen) to craft the follow-up to their acclaimed 2020 record.
After the pandemic derailed The Killers’ world tour in support of Imploding the Mirage, “everything came to this grinding halt,” Brandon Flowers recalls in a statement. “And it was the first time in a long time for me that I was faced with silence. 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.”
A press release describes the resulting Pressure Machine 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,” continuing:
A quieter, character-study-driven album, Pressure Machine lives squarely in Flowers’ hometown of Nephi, Utah, a close-knit community of 5300 people with no traffic lights, a rubber plant, wheat fields, and the West Hills. Nephi is the place Flowers spent his formative years (10-16), saying “had it not been for advancements in the automotive industry, Nephi in the ‘90s could have been the 1950s.” The album’s songs are based on the memories and stories of people that impacted him growing up, interspersed with commentary from current Nephi locals about their town.
“We were discussing [Brandon] moving to Nephi as a kid and being stuck in the middle of nowhere,” says drummer Ronnie Vannucci Jr. “And during Covid-19, it started to feel like we were all in the middle of nowhere.” “I discovered this grief that I hadn’t dealt with,” says Flowers. “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.”
For the first time—yet perhaps unexpectedly, given the subject matter—Flowers had the album’s lyrics written before any recording had begun, telling coming-of-age tales about the American Southwest from the perspectives of both his younger self and the people he rubbed elbows with in his small town.
Naturally, The Killers will hit the road in support of Pressure Machine and Imploding the Mirage both, starting next fall. Tickets go on sale Friday, July 23, at 10 a.m. local time via the band’s website.
Watch a trailer for Pressure Machine below and see the band’s tour dates further down. You can preorder the record right here.
The Killers 2022 Tour Dates:
August
19 – Vancouver BC @ Rogers Arena
20 – Seattle WA @ Climate Pledge Arena
21 – Portland OR @ Moda Center
23 – San Francisco CA @ Chase Center
24 – San Diego CA @ Pechanga Arena
26 – Las Vegas NV @ T-Mobile Arena
27 – Los Angeles CA @ Banc of California Stadium
30 – Salt Lake City UT @ Vivint Arena
31 – Denver CO @ Ball Arena
September
08 – Houston TX @ Toyota Center
09 – Austin TX @ Moody Center
10 – Fort Worth TX @ Dickies Arena
13 – Miami FL @ FTX Arena
14 – Orlando FL @ Amway Center
16 – Atlanta GA State @ Farm Arena
17 – Nashville TN @ Bridgestone Arena
18 – St. Louis MO @ Chaifetz Arena
20 – St. Paul MN @ Xcel Energy Center
21 – Chicago IL @ United Center
23 – Toronto ON @ Scotiabank Arena
24 – Montreal QC @ Bell Centre
25 – Verona NY @ Turning Stone Event Center
29 – Washington DC @ Capital One Arena
30 – New York NY @ Madison Square Garden
October
1 – New York NY @ Madison Square Garden
3 – Boston MA @ TD Garden
4 – University Park PA @ Bryce Jordan Center
6 – Pittsburgh PA @ Petersen Events Center
7 – Cleveland OH @ Wolstein Center
8 – Detroit MI @ Little Caesars Arena