Brandon Flowers has revealed that he is considering quitting music.
The frontman of The Killers, who releases his third solo album ‘Thrasher’ on August 21, admitted during a new interview with The Times that he’s thought about how much longer he can be an artist.
“My dad goes to yard sales, where he buys frames to take home and paint,” he explained. “He’s never had any money in his life and he’s happier than I am.
“I’m really going through it right now: how much longer do I want to do this, what does it mean, why am I doing it anyway?”
Flowers added: “Whenever I finish a tour, without fail I get sick.”
The singer went on to cite the longevity of the Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, who is still active at the age of 83.
“Then I think of Mick Jagger and ask myself: what keeps him getting up on that stage?” Flowers continued.
“I guess it’s because there are powerful moments in a concert. How could I not want to do that?”
In 2023, he told The Times that he was in a “crisis” as he struggled to decide which direction to take The Killers in next. It came shortly after the band released the synth-y standalone singles ‘Boy’ and ‘Your Side Of Town’ (both produced by Stuart Price).
These songs were meant to feature on a new Killers album, but the project was ultimately scrapped because it didn’t feel “authentic”.
“Halfway through recording I realised, ‘I can’t do this’,” Flowers said at the time. “This isn’t the kind of record […] I don’t think you’ll see us making this type of music any more.
“This is the crisis I’m in. The Killers are my identity and our songs fill the seats, but I’m more fulfilled making music like [2021 album] ‘Pressure Machine’.”
Another song, the euphoric and trance-y ‘Spirit’, ended up appearing alongside ‘Boy’ and ‘Your Side Of Town’ on a greatest hits compilation called ‘Rebel Diamonds’.
Flowers has already shared two singles from his forthcoming new solo album, ‘Plans’ and ‘Paradise’.
Recorded in Nashville, the country-inspired album was made with the singer’s longtime producers Shawn Everett and Jonathan Rado, as well as guitarist David Rawlings, pedal steel player Bruce Bouton, and 85-year-old Charlie McCoy (the harmonica player who featured on all four of Bob Dylan’s Nashville records).
The LP explores Flowers’ early years, spending his childhood in the small town of Nephi, Utah. He looks back on how his father would drive him around the countryside listening to Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings on the record.
‘Thrasher’ is said to find the vocalist at his most personal and vulnerable, delving into a chapter of his life that he’s rarely written about before, and reminiscing about these formative years.
“As I’ve gotten older, I’ve found my way back to my father’s music – ‘Country-Western’ (as he called it) – and discovered that the stories I carry really feel most at home in the skin of this beautiful American tradition,” Flowers said in a previous statement.
He’ll take ‘Thrasher’ out on a UK, Ireland and North American solo tour later this year. The run of shows includes a stop at the historic Royal Albert Hall in London in October. Find any remaining tickets here (UK and Ireland) and here (North America).
During an interview with NME last year, Flowers spoke about his plans for two new solo albums, describing the first as more of a “step backwards” from his 2015 record ‘The Desired Effect’.
“It’s more in the [2010 debut] ‘Flamingo’ direction,” he told us. “I made two South West records, if you want to know the truth. One is a romantic South West record, and the other is a narrative South West record which picks up where ‘Pressure Machine’ left off.
“I’m thrilled about both of them, and they’ll both come out before the next Killers record – but I’m thrilled about the next Killers record.”
As for future material from the Las Vegas band, Flowers told NME it was “a little too early to say” what their next era would sound like. However, he revealed that they wouldn’t be returning to the slick, synth-y style of their recent Stuart Price-produced singles.
“We will not put it out unless it is the best,” the frontman said. “We’ve already discussed it. It’s gotta be so good or it’s not worth it.” He then confirmed that the new music would feature “all four members”, after they reunited for the 2024 track ‘Bright Lights’.
Meanwhile, Flowers debuted some new solo material and joined Lucy Dacus and Nathaniel Rateliff at Newport Folk Festival last month, while also dusting off some Killers classics. Dacus also brought out Flowers during her set for a cover of Jim Croce’s ‘Time In A Bottle’.