Album Review: Brandon Flowers - Flamingo (3.5/5)

The Killers already made a Las Vegas-themed album (Sam's Town), but that hasn't stopped its frontman Brandon Flowers from mining the concept again for his solo debut. Flamingo, named after the famed casino built by Busgy Malone (currently the oldest on the Las Vegas strip), even more blatantly seeks to posit Vegas as the capital of the wild west, a place where troubled souls bet not just their pocketbooks but their souls.

Chirping crickets begin "Welcome to Las Vegas," the heavy-handed opening track evokes more Vegas cliches than I thought possible, depicting a den of sin attracting people with grand dreams they can't achieve ("didn't nobody tell you, the house will always win"). The bombastic production lays on the guitar, piano and synths quite thickly, with a hint of western influence. It's fine, although overblown. I much prefer the warm second track, "Only the Young," one of my favorite songs on the album, drenched with atmospheric synths and a mild but propelling beat. Rilo Kiley's Jenny Lewis lends a guest vocal on "Hard Enough," whose rough-around-the-edges production contrasts nicely with the smoother previous track.

Vegas references flow freely on "Jilted Lovers and Broken Hearts," which sounds quite like anything the Killers would do, a fiery guitar-driven rock song with a strong pop hook. "why don't you roll your dice, show your cards..." etc." Flamingo was co-produced by Stuart Price, who helmed the Killers last album, Day & Age, by Daniel Lanois, frequent U2 collaborator. The combination of Stuart's smooth electronic production and Lanois' landscape-evoking western sounds come together nicely on the moody "Playing with Fire," the most country-sounding song on the album.

The album drags a bit in the middle with "Was It Something I Said," which turns to the early '80s for its upbeat pop sound and "Magdalena," a cookie-cutter guitar anthem. The rolling melody of hit single "Crossfire" is a welcome diversion before "On the Floor" and "Swallow It" close the album on a weak note. All subtlety is lost on the former, which brings in a gospel choir to hit us over the head in letting us know the song is about redemption. The latter strives to be a bit quirky, but just doesn't interest me. I do like a few of the bonus tracks. "Jacksonville" has a really cooling bass keyboard growl effect, and "I Came Here to Get Over You" has a great guitar and bass-driven melody.

I enjoy this album, although I find it a bit disappointing that Flowers didn't attempt something different from what he's been doing the last 6 years with his band. The Killers does this kind of stuff just fine, so it feels like a missed opportunity that Flowers aims for such a similar sound and didn't experiment more. As much as I like Stuart Price, that he produced the band's last album further reinforces this, as does the presence of Lanois, since The Killers, like Coldplay, often chase a U2-like grandeur in their music. Still, it's packed with a few great pop songs that should make good singles in the months to come.

Best: Only the Young, Jilted Lovers and Broken Hearts, Playing with Fire, Crossfire

Best of 2000s: The Killers - Hot Fuss (4.5/5)

Coldplay to the Strokes to the White Stripes to Franz Ferdinand to The Killers pretty much defines the string of what was cool during the first half of the 2000s. Hot Fuss was a must have album, even if, looking back, it wasn't quite as great as we thought it was 5 years ago. Don't get me wrong--it's still awesome, but it's definitely front loaded. While the album had many hits, it's a shame "Jenny Was a Friend of Mine" wasn't one of them, for it's a rather cool song, with a great synth line (this was where the indie movement to dip into '80s synth pop reached mainstream appeal). "Smile Like You Mean It" has a strong synth line too. Upbeat, disco-inflected "Somebody Told Me" was the song that made many of us fall for the Killers, and it's still a mean pop track. Despite their indie beginnings, it was clear from the start The Killers had their eye on producing a certain amount of Coldplay-esque grandeur, for how else do you explain stadium-loving "All These Things that I've Done," which, no matter how you feel about such songs, is a grand song indeed, dragging us through the "I've got soul, but I'm not a soldier" singalong about two-thirds the way through. Things cool down after that, but I do like the dramatic synth-heavy strut of "Andy, You're a Star," and "On top" sounds like it was about 5 years before its time, so lovingly does it display its keyboard effects.

Best: Mr. Brightside, Somebody Told Me, All These Things that I've Done, Jenny Was a Friend of Mine, Smile Like You Mean It

Album Review: The Killers - Day & Age (4/5)

The Killers became one of the most influential bands of the decade with their first album Hot Fuss. Its new wave revivalism became the "in" sound of many bands during the second half of this decade. With their heavy use of synthesizers in check they made their second album, Sam's Town, which saw them expand their '80s influences to the sweeping Americana sounds of Bruce Springsteen and U2. Brandon Flowers, while mightily entertaining, is no Bono or the Boss, and his relatively thin voice got swallowed at times by the assaulting sound mixes of their last album. And the band drew criticism for trying to act more important than they--an indie pop/rock band who made their name mining '80s influences like New Order and Duran Duran--were thought to be.

So Day & Age is return of sorts to the more light-hearted atmosphere of Hot Fuss. They've trimmed back the big as landscapes sound of Sam's Town (and their beards), turning to dance producer Stuart Price to twirl the knobs on this third album. Price became a name for helming Madonna's Confessions on a Dancefloor and last year made a very similar sounding album for Seal, System. This year, he seems to be focusing on helping bands blend rock and electronic pop sounds (he co-produced two track's for Keane's recent Perfect Symmetry).

The album's start is promising. "Losing Touch" has a strong '80s new wave vibe in the New Order vein and a touch of horns that hearken to Peter Gabriel's mid-'80s stuff. "Human" is clubbier, but not cold. It has a warm upbeat nature recalling perhaps Pet Shop Boys. Better yet, it seems to mean absolutely nothing--"are we human or are we dancer?" is a literary reference but does it mean anything in the context of the song. Do we even care?

The third track is the album's best highlight. "Spaceman" is a really fantastic song, up there with "Mr. Brightside," "Somebody Told Me," and "When You Were Young" as among their best energetic can't help but move your body moments. Strong synths and guitar strumming propel Flowers through the chorus. He still doesn't have the vocal chops to match the band's ambitious volume level, so his charm has to come from personality, which he easily excudes, especially when singing weird lyrics: "they say the Nile used to run from east to west"--do they now?

The first three songs are instantly likeable--the rest of the album had to grow on me, but thankfully it has. "Joy Ride's" busy percussion section, saxophone and electric guitar recall late '80s pop. If "A Dustland Fairytale" fails to woo you on first listen, give it a second chance. It starts off very sweetly with quiet vocals and piano, then a few strings join in, the guitar, and then the full orchestra. The epic, building song recalls their Sam's Town U2 pretensions. What I can't decipher is whether it is telling a coherent Las Vegas-style rags to riches story or just flashes of it. Either way, it's a good song.

"This Is Your Life" unfurls like a march, propelled by an insistent bass line, drumbeat and chants that recall Dream Academy's "Life in a Northern Town." The world music influence continues on Caribbean-flavored "I Can't Stay," complete with kettle drum. Normally such Paul Simon-esque influences would turn me off, but the Killers keep these songs rooted in their usual synth-based melodies. The sweet synth line of "This Is Your Life" softens its potentially harder edge, while the synth and sax combo on "I Can't Stay" adds grandeur to the lighter mix.

"Neon Tiger" is the highlight of the album's second half, a new wave ballad not unlike "Smile Like You Mean It" (but brighter) or "Read My Mind" (but more retro). The Killers' love of synth pop is as alive and well as ever on "The World We Live In." Its staccato synth chords recall Cutting Crew's "I Just Died in Your Arms Tonight," while its grandeur evokes Pet Shop Boys. Too bad the album ends with such a clunker--the dark and plodding (and nearly 7-minute) "Goodnight, Travel Well."

It's interesting how much other bands try to copy The Killers, given how much the band itself is derivative of so many different sounds--particularly '80s new wave and synth pop greats. It's also interesting how, to me at least, all of their albums have been consistently good. Nothing is perfect, but I can't say that I like the synth-rock of Hot Fuss better or worse than the U2-ish Sam's Town or the wordly synth-pop of Day & Age. Not brilliant, but it's all pretty good.

Best: Spaceman, Human, Losing Touch, Neon Tiger, A Dustland Fairytale, I Can't Stay, This Is Your Life

Fall Music Preview - November/December

November:

Release of the Month: Dido - Safe Trip Home (11/3) Finally, after 5 years, Dido is finally ready to release the follow-up to Life for Rent, Britain's biggest album of 2003. Her downbeat-influenced pop made her one of the world's most successful female artists early this decade. First single "Don't Believe in Love" debuts at radio next week, and her Web site is currently offering a free download of the track "Look No Further."

Beyoncé - Virtuoso Intellect (11/11) Timbaland produces, but not much else is known about Beyoncé's upcoming third solo album, other than it will surely be a massive success once it's out.

The Killers - Day and Age (No date). Produced by Stuart Price, the man behind Madonna's clubby Confessions on a Dance Floor, so expect this to be more along the lines of their first album, Hot Fuss.

Kelly Clarkson - TBD (11/18) Kelly Clarkson made headlines last year for her publicized spat with record exec Clive Davis. A very bad move, and her career suffered for it. My December, while not a bad album, was a commercial disaster, scoring only one somewhat major hit in "Never Again," damaging the momentum created by her amazing second album, Breakaway. Consequently, Kelly repented, vowing to improve on her fourth album. Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic is on board as producer.

Timbaland - Shock Value II (11/4). As if he isn't busy enough producing for others, Timbaland has another one of hits own star-filled collections coming out. This time he'll be featuring Madonna, Linkin Park, Gwen Stefani, Jordin Sparks, the Jonas Brothers, Rihanna, T-Pain, Kelly Rowland and Akon. Nobody you've heard of.

U2 - No Line on the Horizon (11/18) Perhaps the biggest band in the world for the last 20 years, U2 are on a roll. Last album How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb won the Album of the Year Grammy in 2006. The band has hinted at a more experimental direction for this, their 12th studio album.

Also:

Fall Out Boy - Folie a Deux (11/4)
David Archuleta - TBD (11/4)
Brandy - Human (11/11)

December:

Ciara - Fantasy Ride
Britney Spears - 6th Album

Hopefully sometime this lifetime:

Whitney Houston - 6th studio album.