By Isaac Siegemund-Broka
Web entertainment editor
After four successful albums with the Killers, Brandon Flowers has a lot to live up to with his debut solo album, “Flamingo,” released on Sept. 14. Flowers does not fail to deliver and can be expected to gain new fans.
While instrumentally less complicated and diverse than much of the Killers’ material, “Flamingo” showcases Flowers’ talent as a solo act. Flowers’ strengths as a vocalist and pianist while adding a consistent acoustic guitar background and tasteful accents of electric guitar. This creates an artistic blend of pop-influenced piano rock and indie-pop.
Flowers seems to slightly back away from the Killers’ grooving synthesizer rock, replacing it with heavy pop influences, heard more prevalently on the track “Only The Young.” Throughout the album, he uses the synthesizer in a different way, as a constant melodic backing to most tracks that provides the base on which it is constructed.
A pianist himself, Flowers often uses the piano as a bridge between the alternative and pop aspects of the album.
Flowers manages to keep a well-proportioned balance between these genres. Slow synthesizer and a fun beat on “Only the Young” compliment distortion-enhanced electric guitar on “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas.”
The less dominant instrumentation of “Flamingo” allows Flowers to show his true skill as a singer. Flowers has a very unique voice, full of emotion. When singing, his voice often sounds strained and he uses slight vibrato as finishing phrases to add feeling in each line. He accesses the very highest ranges of his voice with skill and seeming ease on several tracks, including “Playing With Fire” and “Crossfire.”
However, cutting back on instrumental diversity and complexity to make room for Flowers’ vocals has its problems, as some songs are very similar to others on the album.
Flowers takes advantage of the primacy of the vocals, writing sophisticated and interesting lyrics far superior to those of most songs today. Although this benefits the tracks, it fails to fully make up for the lack of instrumental arrangement.
Several songs go above and beyond in terms of their message and ideas. Included among these songs are “On the Floor” and “Playing With Fire.” However, the lyrics are not always as eloquent as they are on some tracks. Flowers is not the only singer on the album.
Jenny Lewis, vocalist for Rilo Kiley, collaborates with him on “Hard Enough.” Her gentle voice compliments Flowers’ well-placed harmonies, adding to the song’s emotion.
Many Killers fans are complaining that they would have rather had another Killers album than a solo album from its frontman.
While the Killers reliable synth-rock is certainly a pleasure to listen to and presents an innovative combination of genres, Flowers’ solo work allows the artist, and, hopefully, the listener, to branch out while staying in a sort of comfort zone.
On the deluxe version of the album are four additional songs that each push the record’s genre range further. “The Clock Was Tickin’ ” is not far from country; “Jacksonville” and “Right Behind You” are just steps away from electronica and, at times, noise rock; and “I Came Here To Get Over You” is so out-there that it features an accordion.
Flowers remarkably adjusts his style of singing according to each of the genres presented throughout the album while never losing his distinctive sound.
Brandon Flowers debut album, “Flamingo” crosses genre barriers instrumentally and showcases Flowers’ excellent and emotional singing.
“Flamingo” is available on iTunes and at most retail stores.
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