New broke the other day that Phoebe Bridgers would be guesting on a new album from The Killers, Pressure Machine, a delightful meeting of the minds that pleased indie fans immensely. Now, in a new interview with Stereogum, the band has discussed exactly what the collaboration process was like. It’s not as glamorous as people might think, though! Brandon Flowers spoke about how recording with masks, during COVID-19, isn’t the most conducive to a super strong connection, but maybe the mystery only added to the magic.
Here’s what Flowers had to say about the collab:
“She knocked us out with a couple beautiful covers, “Read My Mind” and “Human.” She’s been on my radar since I first heard “Funeral” years ago, and you just know there’s something special about her. It was nice to know that she was also a fan of ours. It just kind of came together naturally. It was fast. It was during the middle [of the pandemic], everyone was wearing masks. I don’t think we ever really saw her face. She came into the studio, she went into a darkly lit live room. She had already gotten really familiar with the song, did a couple takes, and then that was it. She disappeared into the Los Angeles night. [Laughs]
And he followed up by saying that working with Bridgers for that song, “Runaway Horses,” was something that “just felt right.”
We definitely needed a female voice on “Runaway Horses.” She has a history, I think, with not only that type of music but even in her lineage — her grandpa has rodeo ties. It just felt right.