Brandon Flowers
‘Flamingo’
(Vertigo)

We’d like to think that the bombastic production, sonic sheen and uncomfortably robotic attempts at emotion and spirituality driving Brandon Flowers’ debut solo record are some kind of clever, ‘American Psycho’-esque comment on the emptiness of modern consumer culture. But, as ‘Flamingo’ progresses, it soon becomes apparent that The Killers frontman really is trying to make something meaningful here; all be it amidst the chatter of castanets, chiming bells, gospel choirs and the kind of smooth rock-lite instrumentation you’d expect from noughties-era U2. It’s an undeniably catchy listen but utterly baffling in its inability to connect or convey feeling. If ‘The Suburbs’ is the beautifully unsettling soundtrack to what it’s really like to live in the contemporary Western world, then ‘Flamingo’ is the big fat Dubya-esque cover up; screaming ‘close your eyes and keep on gorging.’

Camilla Pia