Flamingo is Brandon Flowers’ first solo effort after three big albums with The Killers, and while there are a number of similarities in the production values, it is the differences that stand out starkly.
The first is Flowers’ obvious religious affiliations to the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints (Mormon), which is in free flow throughout Flamingo. Maybe it’s simply because there is no longer the constraint of being a part of The Killers that has prompted the religious outpouring, but whatever the case, the tone is preaching and grates slightly all the way through the album. The other notable difference is the country feel to large parts of the LP making Flowers’ vocals sound like he’s pitching for a duet with Dolly Parton at times. Although, the acoustic guitar that has more predominance here than on The Killers tracks works quite well in places.
Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas opens up promisingly, with a building introduction to Brandon Flowers’ vocals, which have much more Nevada twang. The lyrics are laced with humourless irony backed up by a melody heavy tune. However, elements of a sermon on the mount kill the impact.
Only the Young continues with the christian terminology and shows Flowers’ massive vocal range. It’s one of the best sounding songs on Flamingo, built around sprawling organs and catchy drums. The slide guitar is brilliant at the end of the song.
Hard enough is a countrified duet with Jenny Lewis (amazingly, she was in the legendary 80s film The Wizard), which passes by fairly uneventfully. The electric guitar sounds amazing on Jilted Lovers and Broken Hearts.
Playing With Fire is a slide guitar fuelled dark story of demons, church and salvation, that leads into Was It Something I Said?’s classic 80’s bass and synth melodies. While I’ve got no doubt Flowers has got no idea who The Pocketbooks are, Was It Something I Said? has definitely got shades of their indie-pod funfair sound. However, even here, the religious references don’t stop.
Magdalena is all fast paced acoustic rhythms and electric piano tones, while single, Crossfire, is an Eagles-like stadium filler that fails to live up to the potential of any Killers single release. However, it’s potential is vastly improved by the fact that the video features Charlize Theron (Mad Max 4) as a ninja thumping femme fatale.
On The Floor sounds more like a hymn than a rock song, but it somehow works, sounding impressive with its gospel choir backing. Swallow It, the last track of the album, is possible the most progressive, with shades of MGMT Congratulations.
Flamingo is an OK album all in all, but the righteousness sermons and Christian terminology dismiss it’s potential to impress. Where other bands that discuss religion, like Arcade Fire (Neighbourhood, Neon Bible & The Suburbs) do so with probing questions about the role of religion in society, Flamingo is a calling card for faith. You can’t help but feel like the days of Hot Fuss are long past us now and any delusions that they could ever return are well and truly dead. Shame that!
Brandon Flowers, Flamingo review: 3/5
