The Killers - Pressure Machine (8.13.21) Album • Page 28

Keeping in mind that I only heard BB, WW, ItM, and PM this weekend for the first time, I'd probably rank the albums like this:

Pressure Machine (In The Car Outside)
Imploding the Mirage (Dying Breed)
Sam's Town (Why Do I Keep Counting?)
Battle Born (Battle Born)
Hot Fuss (All These Things That I've Done)
Wonderful Wonderful (Life To Come)
Day & Age (A Dustland Fairytale)

 

Am I the only one around here who thinks Day & Age doesn’t suck and in fact rocks?

Tobias Funkë “there are dozens of us” dot gif

 

this made my eyes do the cartoon animal thing where they bulge out of their skull

 

I'm with you. If you just take the albums as released and don't count any of the b-sides, I think Day & Age is just as good if not better than Sam's Town. Sam's Town certainly has higher highs, but Day & Age has more songs that I actually like. I think there's only one bad song on Day & Age.

 

the ranking or the favorite songs lol

 

Also yeah Day & Age is still not great for me. I re-listened to it this weekend for the first time since it originally came out and the only songs I really like are Losing Touch, A Dustland Fairytale, and Goodnight, Travel Well. And Spaceman is ok. Still a major disappointment considering they were coming off of Sam's Town.

 

I feel like the "narrative" at the time though was that Sam's Town was kind of critically panned and not very well received after it's release, right? That one has totally gained more acclaim and become a fan favorite over time.

So in making Day & Age, they kinda backpedaled a bit, writing songs more in the vein of Hot Fuss, ie Human, Spaceman, Joy Ride, et al. Which is probably why it seems like more of a safe and boring album compared to Sam's Town. At least that's my recollection of how it went.

 

in the car outside and in another life back to back is just unfair to other music

 

Sam's Town being panned EVER will never cease to amaze me. It's a towering achievement, and always was.

Day & Age is just a little bit hit and miss. I love love love about half of it.

 

ranking haha

 

I think if you swapped Day & Age and Flamingo in each respective discography, they both become a little more linear haha.

Also, if they ever do wind up doing a stripped back Pressure Machine tour, I really hope this makes it. This rendition would lend itself so well to that set.

 

no. Think there’s exactly 3 of us in these here parts that know the truth.

 

Sams Town getting shitty reviews was the first time I woke up to the idea that critics don’t always know their shit. I was in early high school when it came out and me and my best friend were just like “what the hell are all these people talking about? It fucking rocks”

 

I wish there was a recorded version of his Bette Davis Eyes cover. So insane.

 

Totally agreed.

 

I wish they would release a fully recorded, non-demo version of Peace of Mind.

 

Do any of these songs really fit on Hot Fuss though? I really feel Day & Age was its own thing.

Also, if you squint closely you can start to hear the western/country influences to Brandon’s writing creep in during this album (which are then doubled down on in Flamingo) - it’s just that Stuart Price turned them into those spacey, synth-and-saxophone-laden soundscapes. Eg. Human started as an acoustic “campfire song” before they added the dance beat (so it became “Johnny Cash meets Pet Shop Boys” in their eyes). Then you’ve got tracks like Neon Tiger and A Crippling Blow which play like synth-westerns to my ears.

 

Your first sentence is true at least.

 

Definitely was not trying to say they would fit on that record, sorry if that was misconstrued... just saying that they returned to more of a "synth-rock" style on at least a few songs in an effort to replicate the "HITS" of Hot Fuss.

 

Sam's Town
Hot Fuss
Imploding The Mirage
Day & Age
Sawdust
Wonderful Wonderful
Pressure Machine
Battle Born

 

Wrote about this: The Killers – Pressure Machine

 

My initial worry / wonder about this album after two listens was if I would be able to listen to it very often or if the stories would be too sad / depressing to listen to on a consistent basis and that has (gladly) not been the case at all.

I listen to this thing all the time and today I really listened to the beats and music and not the lyrics and when it wants to be dark of course it can be, but there’s a lot on here (at least musically) that is not sad/slow/depressing/dark like some might think given the influence of the album.

 

Fantastic review, Craig!

 

to be fair, Pressure Machine, Imploding the Mirage, and Sam's Town are basically 1a, 1b, and 1c for me

 

honestly ItM and ST aren't that wild to me. seeing this 1 is pretty wild. i ... don't think it like the first few or last few songs on this record at all. the middle is some of their best work but it really starts and ends with some duds imo.