Thrasher (album)
2026 studio album by Brandon Flowers
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Thrasher (stylized in all caps) is the third solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Brandon Flowers, lead singer of rock group the Killers, released on August 21, 2026 by Island Records. The album has features of country and americana, marking a stylistic departure from Flowers' 2015 solo studio album The Desired Effect. Thrasher features musicians such as Charlie McCoy, David Rawlings, Bruce Bouton as well as production work from Jonathan Rado, Shawn Everett, and Jed Jones.
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- RCA Studio A (Nashville, Tennessee)
- June Audio (Provo, Utah)[a]
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| Released | August 21, 2026 | |||
| Recorded | July 2025 | |||
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| Length | 42:46 | |||
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Thrasher is a concept album that serves as a follow up to the Killers' 2021 album Pressure Machine, which explores Flowers' childhood growing up in Nephi, Utah. Influenced by Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings, the album was recorded at the historic RCA Studio A in Nashville, Tennessee, as well as June Audio in Provo, Utah, throughout July 2025. Thrasher was preceded by three singles—"Plans", "Paradise", and "Tiger's Blood"—all of which received praise from critics.
Background
Flowers revealed in 2023 that he was working on at least one solo record that embodied "a little bit of [his] first two solo records [Flamingo and The Desired Effect]," describing the album as "almost wrapped up".[1] Flowers later told NME that he had two solo albums he was working on, revealing that "one is almost mixed [and] the other will follow shortly." Thrasher was recorded at RCA Studio A in Nashville, Tennessee with musicians such as Bob Dylan harmonica player Charlie McCoy, guitarist David Rawlings, and pedal steel player Bruce Bouton. Two songs, "Tiger's Blood" and "Paradise", were recorded at June Audio in Provo, Utah.[2] Produced by Jed Jones, as well as Jonathan Rado and Shawn Everett, who produced the Killers' Imploding the Mirage (2020) and Pressure Machine (2021), Flowers told NME that he "had a ball" making the album.[3][4]
Flowers cited influences such as Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings from his "father's music", and described the album as "country western music" with "a breezy enthusiasm."[5][6] Flowers described how he would get "in the car with [his] dad [and] it would be Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson" and as he's "gotten older, [he's] just gravitated a little bit more towards [his] father's music."[7] Thrasher has also been compared to the "Americana and Western stylings" similar to that of the Killers' Sam’s Town (2006) and Pressure Machine. The alum originated in 2021, with songs such as "An American Dream" being written shortly after the Killers' seventh studio album Pressure Machine was released, which serves as the precursor to Thrasher.[8] Described as "a heartfelt and adventurous document of all the people Flowers has known and loved and feared", the album strikes "a balance between sadness and humour, and captures thinly veiled stories from" Flower's childhood and is said to pick "up where 'Pressure Machine' left off".[9][4][10]
Recording
The recording process for the album took place throughout July 2025. Progress was initially slow at first, with Flowers recalling that "every day [the group would] start late because people would sit and tell stories", with Flowers himself feeling "humbled" by the other musicians.[11] More than 30 tracks were written for Thrasher as well as Flowers' upcoming fourth studio album, which he described as "a romantic South West record".[4] The group recorded each song "three or four times live" until "one of them ended up being the take".[12] Lead single "Plans" was the last song recorded for the album, as it originally wasn't a country song, but was slowed down and mixed into one from Flowers' original recording of it on the Voice Memos app.[13] Flowers', who "hadn’t recorded that way since [the Killers'] Hot Fuss (2004) and Sam's Town (2006), described the process as "one of the highlights of [his] recording career", praising the "experience and competence in the room".[12][14]
Music and lyrics
Musically, Thrasher has been described as comprising elements of country[5], country western and Americana[6].
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Lyrically, Thrasher focuses on Flowers' childhood in Nephi, Utah, where he lived from the age of 8 until his junior year in high school, similar to that of the Killers' Pressure Machine.[15] Certain songs detail Flowers' nostalgia of his youth, such as "Does It Ever Cross Your Mind?" which displays his appreciation of the "happenstance beauty" of being placed "next to the people with whom we spend the rest of our lives", and "Miss America", which chronicles Flowers' memories of "'80s shopping mall pageants and fraught early childhood memories."[9] Other tracks display the guilt and sadness faced in Flowers' personal life, such as "One of Us", a lyrical tribute to Flowers' brother-in-law "who suddenly passed several years ago."[12] Closing track "An American Dream" is described as a "phantasmagoric" track where Flowers' recalls his mom "watching his dad near the end of his life" (the both of which were previously the subject of the Killers' "A Dustland Fairytale" from Day & Age).[10][16]
Promotion and singles
Flowers unveiled the title of Thrasher on WXPN's World Cafe show at NON-COMMvention on May 7, 2026.[17] At the convention, Flowers hosted a listening session for songs such as "Plans", "Paradise", "Does It Ever Cross Your Mind?" and "Tiger's Blood", as well as a live performance of "Miss America" with Rado on acoustic guitar.[18] On the same day, Flowers hosted a playback at Cafe Wha? in Manhattan with Island Records co-CEO Justin Eshak, where he announced "Plans" as an upcoming single. Flowers officially announced Thrasher through social media trailers preceding and on June 23, with pre-orders starting the same day.[19]
Lead single "Plans" was released on June 26 to mostly positive reviews, alongside a music video featuring Flowers and additional session musicians performing the song inside the "historic RCA Studio A."[20] A lyric video for "Plans" was released on July 9.[21] Announced on July 13, "Paradise" was released as the second single on July 17.[22] A music video was released on the same day, and a lyric video on August 4.[23][24] "Tiger's Blood" was released as the third single on August 7.[25] A music video for "Does It Ever Cross Your Mind?" was released to coincide with the album's release on August 21.[26]
Flowers announced a tour in support of Thrasher on June 25, set for fall 2026.[27] The tour encompasses a North American leg in September, followed by a stop at Austin City Limits Music Festival on October 2. Following this, Flowers will take a tour of the United Kingdom in late October before ending in Dublin on October 27. Pre-sale tickets went on sale on June 25, with general sale beginning on June 26.[3][28] Flowers also performed at the Newport Folk Festival on July 26.[29]
Release and artwork
Thrasher was released on August 21, 2026 by Island Records.[19] An LP bundled with a signed poster was released in addition to standard formats such as CD, vinyl, and cassette.[30] A limited edition hand-stamped hand-numbered white label LP was also released.[31] The cover art for the album, depicting Flowers punching while wearing a "tassel heavy" western shirt, was shot by Chris Phelps, with creative direction for the cover by Flowers and Warren Fu.[19][2]
Critical reception
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Any Decent Music | 7.1/10[32] |
| Metacritic | 72/100[33] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| The Guardian |   [34] |
| Rolling Stone |  [35] |
| NME | [36] |
On Any Decent Music, the album has a weighted average score[37] of 7.1 out of 10 from sixteen critic scores.[32] According to Metacritic, it received "generally favorable" reviews based on a weighted average score[38] of 72 out of 100 from fourteen critic scores.[33] Shaad D'Souza of The Guardian called it a "rip-snorting, honky-tonking, Nudie suit-wearing country" album, remarking that in comparison to "2015's The Desired Effect, Flowers' last solo record, Thrasher is front-to-back a far stronger, more enjoyable album."[39] Jon Dolan of Rolling Stone panned the album, describing it as "drunk on sweeping Americana imagery and marveling at the sound of his voice booming across those sweet Nashville studios", calling the album not "quite strong enough to be this epically melodramatic".[40] Andrew Trendell of NME complimented the album, describing it as "a whole lotta soul sold on pure and thorough conviction" and praising Flowers' storytelling, drawing comparison to the Killers' "underrated epic 'Imploding the Mirage'" (2020).[41] John Amen of Pop Matters gave the album a 70/100, writing, "THRASHER’s characters suffer, sometimes acutely, particularly on the album’s later tracks. That said, Brandon Flowers’ melodies are largely airy, ebullient, even life-affirming. Articulating the troubles we face, he also, and perhaps ultimately, pays homage to our resilience".[42]
Track listing
All tracks written by Brandon Flowers. All tracks produced by Jonathan Rado and Shawn Everett, except where noted.[43]
Personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Thrasher.[2]
Musicians
- Brandon Flowers – vocals
- Todd Lombardo – acoustic guitar (all tracks); mandolin (tracks 1, 2, 5)
- Bruce Bouton – pedal steel guitar (all tracks); resonator guitar (track 2)
- Sam Bacco – percussion (all tracks); drums (track 6); tubular bells (track 8)
- Jonathan Rado – bass (tracks 1–9); acoustic guitar (tracks 1, 5); synthesizer (track 3); banjo (track 5); guitar (tracks 5, 7); baritone guitar (track 8); reed organ (track 10)
- Kiley Phillips – background vocals (tracks 1–6, 8–10)
- Maureen Murphy – background vocals (tracks 1–6, 8–10)
- Margo Price – background vocals (tracks 1–6, 8–10)
- Laur Joamets – guitar (tracks 1–3, 5–10); baritone guitar (track 4)
- Bobby Ogdin – piano (tracks 1–3, 5–10); keyboard (track 4)
- Steve Nathan – organ (tracks 1, 2, 4–7, 9, 10); electric piano (track 4)
- Jeremy Fetzer – guitar (tracks 1, 2, 4–6, 8, 9)
- Charlie McCoy – harmonica (tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10); bass, harp (track 8)
- Fred Eltringham – drums (tracks 1, 2, 5)
- Taylor Goldsmith – guitar (tracks 1, 3, 7, 10); bass, baritone guitar (track 8); background vocals (track 9)
- Maxwell Karmazyn – violin, viola (tracks 3–5, 7, 8)
- Griffin Goldsmith – drums (tracks 3, 4, 7–9); guitar (track 6); background vocals (track 9)
- Dennis Karmazyn – cello (tracks 3, 4, 8)
- David Rawlings – acoustic guitar (tracks 3, 6, 8)
- Debra Fotheringham – background vocals (track 5)
- Marie Bradshaw – background vocals (track 5)
- Glenn Worf – bass (track 5)
- Jake Blanton – bass, background vocals (track 10)
- Jed Jones – background vocals (track 10)
Technical
- Shawn Everett – production, recording, mixing
- Jonathan Rado – production
- Jed Jones – recording (all tracks); production (tracks 3, 5)
- Ian Gold – recording
- Scott Wiley – recording (track 10)
- Diana Walsh – additional engineering
- Connor Theriot – additional engineering
- Philip Smith – additional engineering
Notes
- Tracks 3 and 5