4/5 Stars
Waves to Watch: Can't Deny My Love
Genre: Synthpop
Goes great with: Depeche Mode, Future Islands, Pet Shop Boys
With his signature megawatt smile in tow, Brandon Flowers conjures up tantalizing sounds complete with huge 80's drums and pulsing synth wails on his sophomore solo effort, The Desired Effect (Island Records). For now, he's leaving his brainchild, The Killers, behind in the near dustiness of the Las Vegas desert to create an anthemic collection of odes to the most recent decade of decadence. Yet, Flowers doesn't cloak his voice - or the themes - he frequently tampers with while writing for the Grammy-nominated group. The Desired Effect is a keen confabulation of morality and loyalty, shining even in a time when 80's sounds have become a trend.
Flowers has a knack for finding words within the music, offering even more sentiments within the catchy hooks and humming female backing vocals. The unembellished lyrics and black and white video of "Still Want You", complete with talk of catastrophe and a deteriorating world, still pack a punch with Flowers in a white suit and fluffed up hair.
Perhaps the most in touch with the synthpop blues is the lead single, "Can't Deny My Love", with its dancey chorus that is still suitable for a 3 AM walk down a neon-lit street after a night spent drinking. Somehow, it sounds like it could be straight off either a Depeche Mode release or a stripped down version of Heart's Dreamboat Annie. Establishing credibility as a modern rejuvenation of the Pet Shop Boys is the group's own Neil Tennant, who is featured on the desperate "I Can Change".
And of course, Flowers can. His 2010 solo release, Flamingo, was a closer stroke to The Killers, relying on friendly and sauntering guitars. On The Desired Effect, the guitars have been left on the outskirts of Vegas, while Flowers enters and spins around in the Sin City to a grand horn section in the opener, "Dreams Come True", while reminding the gamblers, "Spend your life, bracing for the crash land/You forget, baby it's a dreamland".
But the album is not lacking in any slower and sweeter songs, championed by the closer, "The Way It's Always Been". Often a closing song, no matter how sentimental, can come across as flashy or gimmicky, but Flowers is sincere. "Never Get You Right" is an oddly sweet song, in which "Everybody talks from the wrong side of the mask" - the sharpest line on the album - is offered. "Between You and Me" is a slower admittance, where Flowers ensures that "there's a power in letting go".
Without many 80's cameos, Tennant and pianist Bruce Hornsby aside, Flowers still pays tribute to a host of the decade's greats. On "Diggin' Up the Heart", a synthed-up Born To Run Springsteen track with the tale of Tony, is all too characteristic of the decade's great storytellers. "Untangled Love" is strangely reminiscent of Pat Benatar's reign, and "Lonely Town" is a dewy dancefloor-ready jam with eerie lyrics and a vibe to rival The Police's "Every Breath You Take".
Right now, Brandon Flowers is on the edge of everything. He's slickly toeing the line between solo artist and frontman, while warping himself through eras of desire and charm.This album is not just another leisurely adventure into uncharted territory; this is a stake of claim as an established - and thriving - performer. Flowers, yes, is ambitious and groovy, and in this day and age, both are still a great thing to be.
The Desired Effect will be released worldwide on May 19th through Island Records
//Angelia//
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