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Draft:Quiet Town

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"Quiet Town"
Promotional single by the Killers
from the album Pressure Machine
ReleasedAugust 13, 2021
Recorded2020-2021
StudioBattle Born (Las Vegas)
Genre
Length4:45
LabelIsland
Songwriters
Producers
Music video
"Quiet Town"

"Quiet Town" is a song by American rock band the Killers. It is the second track from the band's seventh studio album, Pressure Machine (2021). The song was released as a promotional single on August 13, 2021, alongside an accompanying music video the same day.[3] The song peaked at No. 40 on the Billboard Rock & Alternative Airplay chart and No. 9 on the Adult Alternative Airplay chart.[4]

Background and release

[edit]
Nephi, Utah, Flowers' hometown and subject of the song, 2012.

The lyrics of the song reflect on the story of Tiffany JaNae Taylor and Raymond Leo Newton, a teenage couple who were both 17 year old students at Juab High School in Nephi, Utah when they were killed in a grade crossing accident with a freight train in 1994.[5] In an interview with NME, frontman Brandon Flowers described how "25 years later, I was still really affected by this train accident from when I was in the eighth grade. Two seniors from the high school were killed. I had seen one of them that morning. They had a baby. [...] I was just shocked at how emotional I was when I started to write this verse.”[6] The un-abridged version of the song contains a snippet at the start of the song of a Nephi resident detailing how "every two or three years, the train kills somebody," adding that "the train is a way to find your way out of this life if you get hit by it". The song's second verse references the historic problem of opioid usage in Nephi, with lyrics such as "when we first heard opioid stories, they were always in whispering tones".[7] Of this lyrics, Flowers' said: “Since I’ve left Nephi, [...] opioids have left their ugly mark on the town, our friends and acquaintances. While a lot of these songs took place in the ’90s, we saw more overdose deaths in 2020 during the pandemic than any other year in recorded history."[8]

"Quiet Town" was written by frontman Brandon Flowers and record producer Jonathan Rado, who previously worked with the band on Imploding the Mirage (2020). Flowers and Rado, along with guitarist Dave Keuning and drummer Ronnie Vannucci Jr. on select songs, wrote the entirety of Pressure Machine together, except for "Terrible Thing" and "Runaway Horses", written solely by Flowers.[9]

"Quiet Town" was first teased by the Killers on social media in a fifty-six second teaser video titled posted to the band's YouTube channel on August 2, 2021. The video depicts the band walking around the town of Nephi, with the song supposedly playing off a jukebox shown in the video.[10] The title of the then-unnamed song was revealed in a tweet of the track listing of Pressure Machine made by the Killers the same day.[11] The song was teased in another trailer one week later, on August 9, 2021.[12] "Quiet Town" was released as a promotional single on August 13, 2021, the same day as the release of Pressure Machine, alongside an animated music video.[3][13]

Notes from a Quiet Town

[edit]

On March 17, 2022, the Killers posted a 30 second teaser on social media of "Notes from a Quiet Town," a documentary slated for release on March 21 via Facebook, alongside the release of the deluxe edition of Pressure Machine on March 25.[14] The documentary, directed by Robert Machoian, premiered on Facebook on March 21 and later on YouTube on March 23.[15] "Notes from a Quiet Town" was recorded throughout July 2021 in Nephi, just before the release of Pressure Machine.[9] The 33-minute documentary compiles footage of the band performing "Cody" and "Quiet Town" in a Nephi backyard, Brandon Flowers and Jake Blanton performing "Terrible Thing" in the Juab High School gymnasium, the Ute Stampede Rodeo, as well as the Ute Stampede Bathing Beauty competition.[16][17] The video also includes interviews with residents of Nephi, with most of the interviewees being the voices heard at the start of songs on the un-abridged version of Pressure Machine.[18] The documentary received positive reviews upon release, with Virgin Radio UK remarking that the "legends have treated fans to versions of Cody, Terrible Thing, and Quiet Town in their new documentary and live film."[19]

Reception

[edit]

"Quiet Town" was met with positive reviews from critics. In 2023, Ticketmaster UK ranked the song second on their list of the 11 best songs by the Killers, noting that it's "one of Brandon Flowers’ most restrained vocal performances, stripped of bravado but filled with yearning."[20] The Ithacan praised the song for its "vocals [which] are achingly mournful, though the dramatic sadness of the musical accompaniment is only an enhancing backdrop for the lyrical content of the track. [...] Piano notes beat like raindrops in a backdrop of the small town’s depressing downpour."[21] The A.V. Club called "Quiet Town" "a haunting ode to a town’s gone-too-soon youth," while Riff Magazine described it as "highly evocative of John Mellencamp, [...] essentially a sadder version of Mellencamp’s 'Jack and Diane.'"[22][23] Guitar.com proclaimed the song as being "driven by sparkling acoustic chords, yet beneath the sprightly chorus and Joe Pug’s wailing harmonica lies devastating grief."[24]

Music video

[edit]

The music video for "Quiet Town" was released on August 13, 2021.[13] The music video, which is animated, is set in Nephi and follows the lyrics of the song, depicting the day of the death of Taylor and Newton, the opioid epidemic in Nephi, and Brandon Flowers as a child in the town.[25] The video was directed by Joshua Britt and Neilson Hubbard, and was animated by Neighborhoods Apart, a Nashville-based production studio founded by the duo.[26] HeadButler.com praised the video for how “it makes you feel as if you’ve experienced a feature-length film about the big sky and unpopulated valleys of the West."[27]

Credits and personnel

[edit]

The Killers

[edit]

Additional musicians

[edit]
  • Joe Pug – harmonica
  • Jonathan Rado – synthesizer, piano, bass, guitar
  • Anjolee Williams – background vocals
  • Charles "ChuckHeat" Henderson-McCrary – background vocals

Technical

[edit]
  • Jonathan Rado – producer
  • Shawn Everett – producer, mixer, recording engineer
  • Chris Allgood – mastering engineer
  • Emily Lazar – mastering engineer
  • Jed Jones – recording engineer
  • Matt Breunig – recording engineer
  • Will Maclellan – recording engineer
  • Alec Eitram – recording engineer
  • Raoul Ahmad – recording engineer

Charts

[edit]
Chart (2021) Peak
position
US Adult Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[28] 9
US Rock & Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[29] 40
UK Singles (OCC)[30] 65
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[31] 81

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Quiet Town by The Killers on Apple Music. 2021-08-13. Retrieved 2025-10-26 – via music.apple.com.
  2. ^ Quiet Town by The Killers - RYM/Sonemic, retrieved 2025-10-26
  3. ^ a b Quiet Town by The Killers on Apple Music. 2021-08-13. Retrieved 2025-10-26 – via music.apple.com.
  4. ^ "The Killers | Biography, Music & News". Billboard. Retrieved 2025-10-26.
  5. ^ News, Deseret (1994-11-05). "DEATH: TIFFANY TAYLOR AND RAYMOND NEWTON". Deseret News. Retrieved 2025-10-27. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  6. ^ Trendell, Andrew (2021-08-13). "The Killers: "There are a lot of young people unsure of their place in this world"". NME. Retrieved 2025-10-27.
  7. ^ The Killers – Quiet Town, retrieved 2025-10-27
  8. ^ "The Killers: "Quiet Town" | HeadButler". 2021-09-19. Retrieved 2025-10-27.
  9. ^ a b The Killers - Pressure Machine, 2021-08-13, retrieved 2025-10-27
  10. ^ TheKillersMusic (2021-08-02). The Killers – Pressure Machine Trailer 3. Retrieved 2025-10-27 – via YouTube.
  11. ^ Killers, The (August 2, 2021). "x.com". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved 2025-10-27.
  12. ^ TheKillersMusic (2021-08-09). The Killers – Pressure Machine Trailer 4. Retrieved 2025-10-27 – via YouTube.
  13. ^ a b "The Killers premiere animated video for "Quiet Town" song off new album, 'Pressure Machine' – 98KUPD – Arizona's Real Rock". 98KUPD - Arizona's Real Rock. 2021-08-13. Retrieved 2025-10-27.
  14. ^ Killers, The (March 17, 2022). "Notes from a Quiet Town". X. Retrieved October 26, 2025.
  15. ^ Killers, The (March 21, 2022). "Notes from a Quiet Town". Facebook. Retrieved October 26, 2025.
  16. ^ Bathing Beauty, Ute Stampede (July 18, 2021). "Ute Stampede Bathing Beauty 2021". Facebook. Retrieved October 26, 2025.
  17. ^ Rodeo, Ute Stampede (July 11, 2021). "Ute Stampede Rodeo". Facebook. Retrieved October 26, 2025.
  18. ^ TheKillersVEVO (2022-03-23). The Killers - Notes From A Quiet Town. Retrieved 2025-10-27 – via YouTube.
  19. ^ "Watch The Killers' new documentary film 'Notes From A Quiet Town' | Virgin Radio UK". virginradio.co.uk. 2022-03-24. Retrieved 2025-10-27.
  20. ^ Grassick, Mark (2024-01-02). "The 11 best songs by The Killers". Ticketmaster UK. Retrieved 2025-10-26.
  21. ^ Ilioaei, Laura. "Review: "The Killers" drop tragic pop-rock album". The Ithacan. Retrieved 2025-10-26.
  22. ^ "The Killers tell poignant small-town short stories on Pressure Machine". AV Club. Retrieved 2025-10-26.
  23. ^ Cook-Thajudeen, Arianna (2021-08-13). "The Killers explore small town despair on 'Pressure Machine' | Review". RIFF Magazine. Retrieved 2025-10-26.
  24. ^ "The Killers – Pressure Machine review: A beautifully etched picture of small-town America". Guitar.com | All Things Guitar. Retrieved 2025-10-26.
  25. ^ "Look: The Killers release new album, 'Quiet Town' video - UPI.com". UPI. Retrieved 2025-10-27.
  26. ^ TheKillersVEVO (2021-08-12). The Killers - Quiet Town. Retrieved 2025-10-27 – via YouTube.
  27. ^ "The Killers: "Quiet Town" | HeadButler". 2021-09-19. Retrieved 2025-10-27.
  28. ^ "The Killers Chart History (Adult Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
  29. ^ "The Killers Chart History (Rock & Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
  30. ^ "The Killers: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 16, 2025.
  31. ^ "The Killers – Quiet Town". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved October 25, 2025.


Category:2021 songs Category:The Killers songs Category:Songs written by Brandon Flowers Category:Song recordings produced by Jonathan Rado

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