Album Review: Brandon Flowers - ‘THRASHER’

Legendary frontman of The Killers Brandon Flowers is back with his third solo album this week titled THRASHER. This one finds Flowers reminiscing on his childhood, a story that is familiar to fans. Flowers was raised Mormon in a suburb of Sin City in the 1980s. What Flowers has not touched on much, was the time he spent in Utah, which accounted for much of his upbringing as well. In that time, Flowers reflected on the impact driving the countryside with his father had on him. They spent that time on the suburban roads of small town Utah, listening to Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings. In a press release, Flowers stressed the influence that those old country tunes had on his storytelling. It was this time that Flowers used for inspiration on his latest solo venture, THRASHER.

This old country influence can be felt throughout the record. Flowers pairs his dynamic signature vocals with influences that he has at times flirted with, but never embraced fully. With the release of THRASHER, Flowers is wholeheartedly embracing the music of his father, country western. Let’s be clear though, Flowers isn’t droning about his “truck” and “beer” in these tracks. Rather, he is embracing more traditional elements of country western, in addition to complex storytelling that you would typically hear in the music of The Killers. On “Plans”, the melody is smooth and easy going, something akin to the Eagles single “Take It Easy”.

It should be noted, that album isn’t entirely acoustic by any means. “Paradise” features haromonica, electric and pedal steel guitar work. This one also brings in elements that you would be used to hearing on a more traditional track from The Killers, particularly through it’s use of backing vocals. Flowers slows things down with the acoustically-driven “Miss America”, which features finger-picked guitar and steel as well. Flowers is particularly adventurous sonically on “Red Ground”, which features mariachi horns and electric guitar work that evokes memories of soundtracks to Western films.

While THRASHER is definitely a new venture for Flowers stylistically, as he fully embraces the country western genre. It is not so far of a departure from his other work that the result is unrecognizable. That is, even if country western isn’t your thing, if you’re a fan of Flowers or The Killers, there is a lot to love here. We frankly applaud Flowers for taking the risk.

Rating - 8/10