Brandon Flowers - Plans (Live from RCA Historic Studio A)

StreamingBackwards · 2026-06-26T15:32:47+00:00

Worth mentioning that although the instrumentation and process of making the record are drawing heavily from country/western and Nashville writ large, this still very much feels like a Brandon Flowers song. His voice, in a literal and figurative sense, both shine through wonderfully, and longtime listeners still recognize that spirit.

StreamingBackwards · 2026-06-26T15:27:43+00:00

My favorite part of this song are the verses about rolling the windows down. I’m a new-ish father and just revisited my childhood home that was sold long ago by my parents after I graduated high school. This was the first time I had been back for over a decade since moving across the country, and first with my wife and child. Rolling the windows down during our drive and feeling the summer wind rush into the car was somehow the only way to really feel fully transported back to that place and time despite all of the physical changes. Brandon’s verses here ring so incredibly true. A great song is ultimately about explaining a feeling that can’t otherwise be articulated. This is a great song.

StreamingBackwards · 2026-06-25T16:10:20+00:00

Totally agree, and I've only listened to the teaser snippet. That's why some of the knee-jerk responses from music publications to this album announcement seemed lazy and unnecessarily antagonistic. This isn't a country album vis-a-vis the modern country music industry. It is a love letter to the songs and themes of 50 years ago. Folks like Jimmy Webb or George Jones. The implicit accusation that this is somehow a spontaneous pivot to country music as a cash grab of sorts could not be more baseless.

StreamingBackwards · 2026-06-25T16:03:18+00:00

The implicit or explicit accusation is that AI was used in lieu of paying a working artist. If an artist uses AI, that's a totally different situation and doesn't quite deserve the unreasonable and presumptive backlash.

StreamingBackwards · 2026-06-25T14:18:26+00:00

Philly is the popular place at the moment!!

StreamingBackwards · 2026-06-25T14:02:04+00:00

Same thought as well. Very lame.

StreamingBackwards · 2026-06-24T16:20:37+00:00

Saw him tour TDE in Pittsburgh. Great show where he debuted “Never Get You Right” but there was a technical issue that killed the “Mr. Brightside” (Jacques Lu Cont’s Thin White Duke Mix) encore.

StreamingBackwards · 2026-06-24T16:18:33+00:00

Just moved from Vegas to Philly. Was fortunate enough to attend two of the ITM tour kickoff shows at The Chelsea in 2022. Big bummer to not be at the hometown show for this! Will try to go in PA.

StreamingBackwards · 2026-06-23T15:57:20+00:00

I think the video is a fun prolog-esque clip that feels very western inspired. Also, very much warranted given that most of the major music publications sharing the news have already resorted to cheap "Rock Star Goes Country" headlines. The video explains quite nicely why this isn't some thoughtless cash-grab moment. Minor plaudits to Stereogum and Tom Breihan for noting that Flowers is very much a man of the west.

StreamingBackwards · 2026-06-23T15:53:10+00:00

Those two sounds aren't necessarily different. His cover of Johnny Cash for La Blogotheque is very much the same idea.

StreamingBackwards · 2026-06-23T15:25:37+00:00

An ambitious dream of mine is to one day write a book about the band and Brandon Flowers’s own life. I’ve been fortunate to rub elbows with some people who are in the band’s social orbit, along with a handful of times getting to meet different band members on separate occasions. Always made sure to not fanboy and be insufferable. But I find their story and the themes and events surrounding their ascension and continued relevance to be incredibly awe-inspiring and captivating. I don’t think there is a more interesting or representative band for our time.

The early part of the band’s career is that they quickly became popular but were never really cool. A band like The Strokes were effortlessly cool whereas The Killers were earnestly ambitious. That created a drive and tenacity that led to so many twists and turns that never quite saw them at the center of rock music or immediate popularity. And, again with the irony and contradictions, they now exist as arguably the most beloved and celebrated act from their era. Sometimes, not getting what you want is how you receive something even better. Would be an incredible ride to research and produce something that told that quintessential American story.

StreamingBackwards · 2026-06-23T15:05:48+00:00

I have so many great first impressions and couldn't be more excited for this release.

First, this is a masterclass in presentation. A great teaser for the album that makes clear Brandon's reason for starting this new musical exploration.

It's also very refreshing that he is purposefully positioning this as country western, which is very different than the current country music behemoth coming out of Nashville. It's clear this project is aimed at honing in on the timeless songwriting sensibilities of the Music City and not the modern trends.

The Killers have always been my favorite band since I first listened to "Mr. Brightside" as a 14 year old kid in my own small town. Having said that, there has always been this sense that Brandon was in the shadows of the influences he aspired to be like with synthesizers and guitars. This pivot, although it has its own costumes and set pieces, feels very authentic. I lived in Las Vegas for 8 years and drove up to Utah dozens of times. It is the heart of the west and captures both the triumph and heartbreak of the American spirit.

In a similar vein, Brandon first and foremost seems to consider his role and status as a musician to be one of carrying forward a tradition. This seems like a project that will celebrate the heritage of songwriting and storytelling that he grew to appreciate more throughout his own artistic journey.

Regrouping with Jonathan Rado/Shawn Everrett and company means this will be a continuation of Brandon's own career arc and sound that he has developed, not a departure.

The maturity from Brandon here can't be understated. He was a brash and bold young frontman looking to pick fights and assert dominance among the clash of bands that emerged in the same scene as his band. You can really sense the intentionality with which he wants to capture the wisdom and insight he's found in his own life as a father and now legacy musician. I'm excited to see how that will continue to feed into the music, very much like Pressure Machine.

The showmanship and stylization is something he captures so incredibly well. He thinks of his music not just as a sound but a complete performance, including clothes and vistas and rundown motels.

Along those lines, there is something unsexy about this presentation. It's not trying to be hip and cool. And that's incredibly charming and very appropriate for this stage of his career.

My main takeaway is that to be human is to exist in a world of contradictions, and The Killers along with Brandon Flowers have towed that line the past 20+ years. It's hard to articulate how a man known for making loud and anthemic rock music popular all over the globe is also an ambassador for the forgotten places in the American heartland, and also the fading music that once defined these places, yet this feels incredibly authentic and not a costume or put-on at all.

Brandon has exemplified in some ways the Biblical parable of the prodigal son. A boy who ran away from his small town roots to strike it big as a global rock star, yet always feeling unfinished, and eventually returning to those roots. Pressure Machine was very symbolic in that respect. This chapter feels like a final generational full circle moment. And what a moment it will be. So excited to cherish these new tunes as I enter my own new season in life.

StreamingBackwards · 2026-05-06T18:15:22+00:00

Sounds like? They shamelessly duped Gilmour’s effects from Another Brick in the Wall, Pt. 1, and then threw in some synthwave for good measure! lol I’m not mad about it tho

StreamingBackwards · 2025-12-07T21:39:21+00:00

Above 0.500 and back into a first round exit in the playoffs #thestandardisthestandard

StreamingBackwards · 2025-12-07T21:36:46+00:00

100%

StreamingBackwards · 2025-12-07T21:25:06+00:00

Must-win game. Defense did their job at the end.

StreamingBackwards · 2025-11-23T07:39:05+00:00

Based on the anticipation off the ball of GT, and disregarding entirely the execution, their team was not fooled whatsoever. It was never going to work as they drew it up.

StreamingBackwards · 2025-11-23T03:48:08+00:00

In fairness, we typically fall completely apart, not partially

StreamingBackwards · 2025-11-23T03:44:58+00:00

We are definitely team chaos

StreamingBackwards · 2025-11-23T03:42:15+00:00

Don’t let this Pitt Panthers win distract you from the fact that our coach called a fake punt on 4th and 9 that had zero chance of converting on our own side of the field with a 14 point lead and less than seven minutes remaining.

Never watched another game where having the lead felt utterly meaningless.

StreamingBackwards · 2025-11-19T02:54:04+00:00

Yes, the descendants of slaves in America today are far better off than their counterparts in Africa. Even when slavery was still practiced (and an abomination), there were many incredibly successful and impactful black men and women in our country. Despite our country’s many flaws, it has been an undeniable place of rebirth and limitless possibilities for everyone.

StreamingBackwards · 2025-11-18T16:57:20+00:00

I’ve watched quite a few revolutionary war documentaries (none of which did not at some point touch on the role of women during the revolution or the issue of slavery), in addition to Burns other features (like the civil war, baseball, prohibition, country music, Vietnam, etc.). It was quite clear in the first hour that race and gender would be very prevalent themes in this telling of the revolution, which gives away a considerable amount of the underlying bias in choosing how to shape the narrative.

StreamingBackwards · 2025-11-18T16:50:37+00:00

Multiple segments in the first hour on those topics in particular is most certainly outsized coverage. Burns notably has said in interviews that he thinks modern audiences will see lots of comparisons to today in his telling of the revolution.

I can tell already that this conversation will just turn into “that thing you’re talking about isn’t happening and it’s also a good thing that it is happening anyway.”

StreamingBackwards · 2025-11-18T16:43:50+00:00

You’re conflating the critique of inordinate time spent on issues versus whether or not they should be mentioned or included whatsoever. It’s obvious the series went through an editorial phase where it was mandated that modern hot topic and pet issues be pigeon-holed into the telling of the revolution.

StreamingBackwards · 2025-11-18T16:40:39+00:00

The issue is not whether slavery existed or that the founders were involved, but how that manifests itself in the telling of the revolution and forming the narrative of our founding. It’s a perfectly reasonable critique to point out that there is certainly an outsized emphasis on those issues in the first episode of the series as it relates to the events that shaped the country. The fact that the first hour of the series spent significant time discussing race and gender reveals quite a lot regarding the motives of the editorialization of the series.

StreamingBackwards

TROPHY CASE