Slap bang in the middle of the first Killers hiatus, frontman Brandon Flowers released his debut solo album Flamingo. A decent record with far more in common than Sam's Town than Day & Age, the album was a tad too long and the second half of the record was no where near as impressive as the first making it a decent if forgettable debut.
As paraphrased from George Santayana (which I've blatantly not had to crosscheck on Google) "Those who cannot remember their history are doomed to repeat it". The good news is Flowers' second album, delivered in the second hiatus of The Killers, possibly slap bang in the middle, does have some key differences from Flamingo.
On the plus side, the album has some distinct changes in style. From the word go, it's full on eighties flare with big budget sound, backing female vocals and dance grooves. If Day & Age was Sam's Town viewed from Mars, than The Desired Effect is Day & Age viewed from Patrick Bateman on a night out at the Tunnel.
Although opener Dreams Come True doesn't really showcase the major changes to the new sound (instead sounding as a dance remix of Sam's Town (the actual track, not the whole album)), it's Can't Deny My Love and especially I Can Change that show off the changes in the four years between albums.
Whilst the former is a more stripped back affair building up for a bridge and the final minute, the latter is a synth heavy and glorious pop song. A catchy vocal hook with an equally catchy synth, sampling Bronski Boy's Smalltown Boy, it has all the hallmarks of a club anthem and I'll be surprised if this doesn't make a lot of people's soundtracks for night's out.
So, I know what you're thinking? Where do the problems lay? It can't all be perfect, you said so in the second paragraph!
Much like Flamingo which would have made a great collection of songs if not for everything after Playing With Fire, The Desired Effect has too many dull moments, although their more spread out for maximum damage this time.
After the superb I Can Change, you get the double whammy of mediocrity with Still Want You (which sounds like an extended version of Neon Tiger) and Between Me and You, which is the album's, dare I say, serious song. Dark and brooding, with no flare, it's a slowburn that kills all the momentum started at the beginning and the album never really recovers.
It tries desperately with Lonely Town, Diggin' Up the Heart and Untangled Love, but the damage is done and the record loudly shunters on to it's own devices until mercifully ending with The Way It's Always Been.
The other problem is that album never really sounds particularly distinct and a lot of the songs sound like rehashes of previous Killers' songs. This can partly be blamed on Flowers' being the leadman of one of the biggest bands on the planet with a decade in the spotlight where familiarity is a normal by-product but the similarities between songs here and songs of yesteryear are quite noticeable.
Ultimately, if you're a fan of The Killers, Flamingo, both or want a decent if all too familiar eighties pop album, there's bound to be something to love on The Desired Effect. It has some real highlights and lot of good work throughout, but much like Flamingo, there's a great EP on slightly above average album which only makes one crave for The Killers to return.
Although this time, hopefully with something better than Battle Born.
6/10
H
@Retcon_Nation
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