Album reviews

Brandon Flowers

`Flamingo’

(Universal Music Korea)

The Killers have produced no less than four full studio albums since their debut release in 2004. The American band from Las Vegas has finally laid down their instruments for a well-needed rest, but frontman and vocalist Brandon Flowers has decided to continue onward for the time-being with his first solo work.

Produced with the help of Stuart Price, the sleek album continues in a similar vein as The Killers. A tribute in part to the band’s hometown of Las Vegas, Flowers extrapolates on his background ― religious faith and small town roots included, which provide for tiring imagery and charm, respectively.

``The church of mine may not be recognized by steeple/But that doesn’t mean that I will walk without a God...I’ve got this burning belief in salvation and love,’’ Flowers croons in ``Playing With Fire,’’ which starts off sounding not unlike the vocals of a Cake song, but quickly escalates into something gospel-like.

The sentiment is repeated throughout the album, though the tracks themselves move from the poppy ``Was It Something I Said’’ to the country ``The Clock was Tickin’’ (one of four bonus tracks on the deluxe release). The latter provides the story-tale plots of a two-step with a twist of modern sentiment.

But it is in the opening tracks that Flowers’ boasts his talents apart from the band, with sincere sentiment that meld his narrative, faithful sentiment with the glamour of that city of sin.

``Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas’’ proves epic with its echoes of timpani drums and guttural cries (``Didn’t nobody tell you the house will always win’’), on the one hand resigning to the saturated richness of the city while simultaneously, depressingly, surrendering.

``Only the Young’’ opens with soft organs before joined by tribal drums, providing a unique contrast with Flowers’ call that ``only the young can breakaway.’’ The chorus, punctuated with a high-pitched and breathy ``ha-ha-ha’’ manages to bring just the right eeriness to the soothing anthem, though the point of interest arrives a bit late.

Ultimately, Flowers’ first attempt to create a work on his own is an admirable one, but the release as a whole lacks a memorable characteristic to truly elevate his music beyond the legacy of the band.

― Ines Min

Two and a half stars out of four.

Why we recommend it: Sometimes, it’s just plain interesting to see frontmen head off into their own sphere with solo work (think Thom Yorke, with a similar level of success but much less at stake).

Best tracks: ``Only the Young’’ and ``The Clock Was Tickin’’

Hurts

`Happiness’

(Sony Music Korea)

The words ``synth-pop duo’’ might call to mind a tired image, but the controversial, Manchester-based Hurts revives the term with hair grease and suits. Hailed by ‘80s enthusiasts as the epitome of the retro era (BBC listed the pair on their Sound of 2010 poll) and panned by hipsters for their perfectly cured sound, vocalist Theo Hutchcraft and synth-player Adam Anderson distinguish themselves from the fold with their disco-lento debut album.

Setting the stage in 2009 with a 20 pound music video for ``Wonderful Life’’ on Youtube, Hurts specializes in the black-and-white contrast, late ‘80s European disco era, replete with rain-streaked cries and salvation. Whether or not listeners are up for diving in, the group _ which unabashedly aims for pop stardom _ succeeds on an epic scale, pulling you in with grandiose choruses, irresistible electronic hooks and even a duet with Kylie Minogue (``Devotion’’). Hurts looks the part, but their straight-faced music convincingly lives up to the image of nostalgia, forgetting that it’s 2010 out there.

Three stars out of four.

Various Artists

`Eat Pray Love’ OST

The film adaptation to Elizabeth Gilbert’s self-search to the three ``I’’ countries _ Italy, India and Indonesia _ is paired with a broad range of classics, from the funk of Sly & the Family Stone to ``The Magic Flute,’’ as performed by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, and ``The Long Road’’ by Eddie Vedder.

Though at first the variety seems jarringly disparate, the diverse genres provide the sense associated with traveling the world, with international artists moving listeners from Argentina’s Gato Barbieri to Brazil’s Joao Gilberto. An apt accompaniment to the author’s journey to find her heart work together, combining the jazzy and funk genres with universal hits such as ``Harvest Moon’’ by Neil Young and ``Got to Give It Up’’ by Marvin Gaye.

The soundtrack provides the sort of ambiance that makes one remember the dramatics and emotions of a full life, certainly not forgetting the ever-vital romance.