Review Summary: Brandon Flowers releases a few outstanding singles. Oh, and there's an album here too.
Brandon Flowers has a penchant for making bold proclamations. Do you remember in 2006, when he announced that
Sam’s Town was going to be “one of the best albums in the past twenty years” and that it would “keep rock n’ roll afloat?” Yeah…
about that. The album received a lukewarm reception, and it’s fair to say that most people forgot about it a few years later – if not sooner. I suppose the old adage is true about people never changing, because in the lead-up to Flowers’ second solo album
The Desired Effect, he was quoted as saying “every song will be a single.” Just to provide some perspective, The Killers’ debut
Hot Fuss had exactly four singles even though it sold over seven million copies. Brandon Flowers is also a lot less relevant now than he was back in The Killers’ heyday. Despite the obvious reasons for doubt, it’s still an intriguing statement though. If he thinks that every song on
The Desired Effect deserves to be a single, then there must be at least
some merit to it. It’s not like anyone would go into this expecting ten groundbreaking tracks, but the possibility that all of them could be fun and memorable (the way they were on
Hot Fuss) is more than just a little intriguing. When I heard the ridiculously infectious lead single, it lent credence to his claims and my expectations began to quickly mount. However, I should have learned my lesson the first time – because if there’s one thing Brandon Flowers loves more than creating glitzy rock albums, it’s exaggerating the hell out of his accomplishments.
If the
The Desired Effect were a sport, it would be horseshoes. It’s entirely hit or miss, offering up tremendous wins such as the retro synth-rocker ‘Can’t Deny My Love’ and the dreamy, 80s-transposed ‘Still Want You’ alongside criminally boring duds like ‘Never Get You Right’ and ‘The Way It’s Always Been.’ Both of the latter songs take desperate stabs at filling the
heartfelt ballad role, and they miss the mark to an almost comical extent. The record’s inconsistency stems partially from Flowers’ approach to songwriting, which tends to value production over substance. There are no tracks that begrudgingly earn respect because of the skill involved; it’s glossed over, sugar-coated candy rock to the maximum extent. The album always seems to be reaching for the stars, with thunderous drum beats, layered vocals, and buzzing synthesizers all simultaneously vying for the spotlight. But as we learned on previous efforts such as
Day & Age,
Flamingo, and
Battle Born – and to quote a former colleague of mine directly –
all glitz and no grit make Brandon a dull boy. Flowers can make all the exciting announcements he wants to, but the bottom line is that he’ll be lucky if three of these songs become successful, marketable singles. The pool to choose from is simply too shallow.
Let’s forget about singles for a while though, because to be honest that stuff matters more to Brandon than it does to the average listener. What you get from
The Desired Effect essentially boils down to your tolerance – or lack thereof – for melodic pop-rock. There are tremendous bright spots here for those who are willing to let their guard down and indulge their fun-loving spirit. One might compare the style on this album to similar works by Bleachers, Walk The Moon, or perhaps even Fun., although it doesn’t quite aspire to those levels. With lyrics that range from pedestrian to flat out cringe-worthy, this is an album that you listen to first and think about later…if at all. Aside from the sure-to-be massive hits (seriously, ‘Can’t Deny My Love’ is vastly entertaining), it’s tracks like ‘I Can Change’ that serve as the tipping point. With heavy electronic backbeats that lend a heavy dose of dancefloor potential, it could be a hit in the right context. There’s also tracks like ‘Dreams Come True’ and ‘Digging Up The Heart’ which aren’t inherently bad but they definitely require a carefree mindset to even remotely enjoy. That’s sort of the theme with
The Desired Effect. I don’t want to tell you to lower your expectations, but as long as you just go into the album simply looking for a good time (and nothing more), then chances are that’s exactly what you’ll find.
The Desired Effect falls well short of Brandon Flowers’ own lofty projections, but to be honest that’s sort of the norm. The standout tracks are strong enough to carry the album, which means that it will probably resonate with listeners who don’t mind putting up with lengthy passages of fluff in between those moments of grandeur. The throwback vibe that permeates the record is an enjoyable twist, but from an artistic, lyrical, and experimental perspective, it is still pretty vapid. This is a slightly disappointing – but still good – release from an artist who has done much better and much worse.
