Don't expect to hear The Killers on Brandon Flowers new solo album Flamingo. The voice may sound the same, but the dynamic has changed. Flowers pours his heart out in this album, with more personal lyrics and adds a distinctly honky-tonk style pop edge resulting in an album that is a gritty compilation that covers death, religion and the struggles of life.
Flamingo is filled with songs that were originally intended for the next Killers album, but when the band chose to take a year of hiatus, Flowers decided to go forth with the new material on his own. He enlisted Stuart Price to co-produce the album, and while Flamingo has the feel of a Killers album it has a much more mellow sound.
Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas
Flamingo starts off with what sounds like a plane landing in the heavy, industrial style intro to Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas. The song then becomes a vivid true-to-life narrative of what Las Vegas is really like with lyrics like "Give us your dreamers, your harlots and your sin" and "Didn't nobody tell you, the house will always win."
The next two songs on the album, Only the Young and Hard Enough are good, but not great. Both are slow, somewhat monotonous tunes with a melancholy feel. The fourth song on the album, Jilted Lovers & Broken Hearts is a faster, more upbeat song about the city not being kind and has a more energetic passion in the vocals.
Playing with Fire
About midway through the album, Flowers treats his fans with the enigmatic Playing with Fire . The intro is long, slow and lightly twangy and then gives way to a sultry chorus of solid lyrics. The next two songs on the album, Was it Something I Said and Magdalena are somewhat mainstream, with Magdalena being very commercial sounding.
Crossfire
Flowers went for a straight up pop ballad in the melancholy Crossfire . This is the one song on the album that is destined to top the charts of mainstream radio. Crossfire is followed by On the Floor, a gospel style song about struggle and hope. Then, the album ends with Swallow It, a song that would've been better if the tempo was sped up.
The Deluxe Edition
Some of the songs in the Deluxe Edition were so good that they should have been on the main album. These are the country influenced Johnny Cash-style songs that may seem like a strange crossover for Flowers, but will work for alternative fans who also like country. The songs on the deluxe edition include The Clock was Tickin', the 80's sounding Jacksonville, I Came Here to Get Over You, Right Behind You, and the Cash-esque On the Floor 2.0.
Flamingo captures the essence of Las Vegas via Flowers' gritty lyrics with a light country influence at times. While Flowers' first solo effort is good, the dynamic the frontman has with The Killers is better. There is something about the chemistry The Killers have when they play together that makes Flowers' vocals shine. Flamingo lacks that, but gives fans songs by Flowers that are much more unexpected.
Minka Gantenbein - Minka Gantenbein is a freelance journalist from the beautiful Central Coast of California. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in ...
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