Rating: NNN
Plenty of artists have written songs inspired by Las Vegas (Elvis, Sheryl Crow, Gram Parsons, to name a few), but Brandon Flowers might be the first to devote an entire album to the gaudy desert city. The Killers frontman was born and raised in Vegas, which is kind of unusual, and here takes the opportunity to emulate his Americana hero Bruce Springsteen, trading Vegas for Jersey.
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But Flowers misses the chance to tell the kind of stories Springsteen would have brought to life. Instead, there are vague ideas about sin and redemption along with scenes that would have been too clichéd even for The Hangover, such as waking up in a burnt-out DeVille and stumbling down the boulevard. The music can be affectionately described as Killer-lite, with Daniel Lanois working his quiet production magic on tunes like On The Floor, and there’s a lot to sing along to. But Flowers plays it too safe. For a record about Las Vegas, he sure doesn’t gamble much.
Top track: Hard Enough
