There comes a point where an artist looks back on previous releases and figures out what worked, what didn’t, and how they can improve with the following release. One could imagine that every artist reaches this point and moves on, wary of second-guessing themselves. Brandon Flowers, frontman for The Killers, is not one of these artists. After admitting that their most recent release, 2012’s Battle Born, didn’t even come close to matching the success of some of their previous records, they decided to go on hiatus and reconvene once each of the members had a good “kick in the pants”, or inspiration for better music. During this time, Flowers decided to record a follow-up to his first solo album, 2010’s Flamingo, with famed producer Ariel Rechtshaid (Plain White T’s, HAIM, Charli XCX, Sky Ferreira). The result is The Desired Effect; a bold, 10 track collection that’s borderline new wave, synth pop, and alt. rock.
Opener “Dreams Come True” starts out with a blaring horn line that transitions nicely into the opening verses. Backed by 80s inspired synths (a cornerstone of this record) and heavy percussion, it starts the album off on a high note. Following track “Can’t Deny My Love” has left quite an impression on me since its release earlier this year. It’s a bold, unapologetic song that could very well be the best track of this record, and potentially the year. Its funk-like percussion, subtle yet vibrant guitar work, and ever-impressive synth lines complement Flowers’ vocals quite well. Ariel Rechtshaid was responsible for my favorite pop song of the past 15 years, so it’s no surprise that this track might be giving the other one a run for its money. “I Can Change” is an interesting track in the fact that it blends elements of new wave with a subtle EDM beat. It’s most attention-grabbing past the first chorus, and only gets better. It’s grown a lot on me since I first heard it, and it might embody the sound of the record as a whole more than any of the others.
“Still Want You” follows. The general instrumentation gives off a nice tropical vibe that works nicely with Brandon’s range. The backing vocals on this one are also a nice added touch. “Between Me and You” is a moderately-paced, 80s rock inspired song that ends the first half of the record. The strings in the bridge, combined with the synths, stand out more than the rest of the instrumentation, yet somehow it sounds flawless. Multiple listens of this track are a must. Side B starts out with “Lonely Town”. The synths are very warm and well-mixed, and the addition of a few brass instruments is quite interesting, but it’s Brandon’s vocal work that’s the icing on the cake. His voice starts out at a subtle, average volume but it begins to grab the listener’s attention more towards the bridge as it’s briefly fed through autotune, then quickly it gets louder and is backed by more voices. It’s powerful and exactly what this track needs. I find this to be the most dance-worthy song on the record. Plus, its music video gives off an incredibly strong David Lynch vibe; specifically a Twin Peaks one. “Diggin’ Up the Heart” is about as upbeat as “Between Me and You” but is definitely more driving in every sense of the word. The mixing on this track is also impressive, and the underlying story in the lyrics requires a few listens to comprehend.
“Never Get You Right” is a nice change of pace as it’s a little more upbeat and hip-hop-like. One of my favorite elements of this track is the underlying piano. It’s not the focus of the track but there are times where it peaks out through the other layers of instrumentation that make me quite happy. “Untangled Love” carries the strength of tracks like “Can’t Deny My Love” and “Lonely Town” in its approach. Its placement as the penultimate track is well-deserved, and while it’s slightly generic-sounding at this point in the record, it’s not to be overlooked. Closing track “The Way It’s Always Been” is pretty minimal at first, but the addition of an acoustic guitar, strings & organ gives the album a proper sendoff.
My minimal exposure to The Killers and Flamingo almost worried me at first as I didn’t know what to expect going into The Desired Effect. The only 3 Killers songs I have in-depth knowledge of are “When You Were Young”, “Human” & “Shot At the Night”. As I started to listen to this record more, I kept thinking of the latter of the 3 aforementioned tracks more and more. That song in general piqued my interest in this record in the first place. I’m a sucker for 80s synths, and seeing Brandon Flowers transition out of that track into this LP made a lot of sense in my mind. Many fans of certain artists are sometimes afraid of change. They nearly rebuke this new material and focus on their previous work. That being said, I think this transition from “Shot At the Night” to The Desired Effect, was not only a precursor to this change of sound (and the band’s resulting hiatus), but almost therapeutic to Flowers in a way. He and Ariel crafted one of the most impressive pop records I’ve heard in years. To say that my high expectations for this album were exceeded is an understatement. More and more listens move this record higher up my year end list. They also make me excited to dive into The Killers’ previous records and Flamingo even more, and give me even more respect for Ariel Rechtshaid’s production work. Some will love it and some will hate it, but there’s no denying that Brandon Flowers has left a lasting impression with this body of work. I can’t recommend this record more.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iiDlU4rhlY[/youtube]
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