Brandon Flowers
Flamingo
Island Def Jam Music Group
September 4

By Danny Contreras

When the Killers broke through the mainstream airwaves with Hot Fuss’ “Mr. Brightside”, they defined their sound, but most importantly, they defined the sound for the next wave of post-punk bands to come. The music was great and the shows were great. The Killers were, and still are, a class act. The Killer’s vocalist Brandon Flowers, however, was the breakout star of the quartet with a versatile voice that seemed able to adapt to any genre and still sound original, regardless of the music in the back. In a sense, his voice was in and of itself its own band.

Too bad, however, that this great ability to sing does not translate well into his first solo album, Flamingo. The singing was top notch; the lyrics were smartly written. His artistic abilities were not put in doubt in this album. But the music, which does not service justice, is just too distracting.

Songs like “Crossfire” and “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas,” contain beautifully, smart lyrics that will appeal to the wild hearts living in a ruthless world; great—had it been a poetry book. The music is just too distracting and very chorus led. The songs, whether it’s a ballad or the hybrid of synth pop and indie rock, were written with a very structured style: verse 1, chorus 1, verse 2, chorus 1—epic chorus, random music in between, verse 3, chorus 1—epic chorus.

It gets old. The album, however, was greatly produced. My Skull Candy headphones, had they been able to communicate, would have told me how much love they have for me playing this kind of music. The bass and drums were easy to decipher from the ‘mush’ of music that make up the songs. But the breakthrough performance is Flower’s vocal, who remains undoubtedly one of the best lead singers in the business. Here he is able to break away from the Killers with originality. His lyrics perfectly matched by the singing—as if the lyrics were written with notes, instead of the alphabet letters.

Overall, the album has forgettable verses but epic choruses that are catchy enough to have you listen to the songs sporadically. Not an album you’d love to play at a party or by yourself if you just feel like ‘chilling.’ It’s worth having in your collection but it is not a must buy.