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The Killers frontman does a solid job channeling his Nashville heroes on Thrasher, but the mystery train doesn’t always stay on track
August 21, 2026
Chris Phelps*
Ever since Bob Dylan cut Nashville Skyline in 1969, rockers have been going to Music City to refresh their sounds, kick it with the world’s best session pros, and drink deep the rejuvenating well of local realness. For his third solo album, Killers frontman Brandon Flowers has gone all-in with a full-fledged country record. He says the music harkens back to his Utah youth listening to Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash (music his dad called “country Western”), and he’s hired some A-list hands to help out, including guitarist David Rawlings — who’s made excellent records alongside Gillian Welch — and octogenarian harmonica great Charlie McCoy, who literally played on Nashville Skyline. As a neo-New Wave guy with a heartland jones and drama-king chops, Flowers isn’t bad cosplaying his heroes, even if his brawny rock-opera vocal approach is a bit short on the conversational warmth that makes for truly memorable country singing.
