It’s not just the what that’s important in a work, but also the who. The sender of a message is also part of the message itself, and we give more or less credit to a person depending on their context; this is precisely the difficulty addressed in Thrasher.
Because Brandon Flowers had no previous standing in the world of country; in Thrasher, Flowers breaks with his past, both with The Killers and with his first two solo albums. Personally, neither the Nevada band nor Flowers’ solo work has been, let’s say, my cup of tea, so I don’t even know why I listened to the album in the first place. But what a great (random) decision.
Thrasher is, quite simply, an album full of good compositions. Country pop tracks that automatically transport you to Nashville: some more classic offerings like Does It Ever Cross Your Mind?, others with a more festive feel like Paradise, pieces with a western aroma like The Red Ground, and more emotional deliveries like Tiger’s Blood, Plans, or the closing track An American Dream. These are songs that grow with each passing second and listen, highly memorable and catchy, dealing with classic, straightforward themes (you don’t always have to be dark and cryptic to move people and create good art).
And why did we start with the who? Because of the merit of the shift. Abandoning the pop rock of his previous works to steer his third album towards country is a remarkable leap for an artist so well-known and (seemingly) pigeonholed in the genre of big, dance-floor-filling rock anthems (which is no small feat, mind you). It’s not that genre-hopping is deeply frowned upon, but it seemed like a difficult leap to achieve in this case (and in fact, public opinion isn’t overwhelmingly positive).
Nevertheless, Flowers has surrounded himself with reputable artists in the world of country, such as guitarists David Rawlings and Bruce Bouton, or harmonica player Charlie McCoy, a living legend of the Nashville scene who collaborated with giants like Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash, and Dolly Parton.
Brandon Flowers is not “just” what he seemed: the leader of a band that has created pop rock anthems for millions of people, but he is, moreover, simply a good composer and performer, regardless of genre.
So enjoy Thrasher, because “tonight we are on the road, with the plans we drew up years ago”.