The Desired Effect Explained

The Desired Effect
Type:studio
Artist:Brandon Flowers
Cover:Brandon Flowers - The Desired Effect.png
Recorded:2014–2015
Studio:
Label:Island
Prev Title:Flamingo
Prev Year:2010

The Desired Effect is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter and The Killers frontman Brandon Flowers. It was released on May 15, 2015, by Island Records. It was produced by Ariel Rechtshaid and Flowers and mixed by Alan Moulder. The album debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, becoming Flowers' second solo number-one album and sixth overall.

Background

In 2010, Flowers released his debut solo album Flamingo under the production work of Daniel Lanois, Stuart Price, and Brendan O'Brien. Flamingo, a homage to Flowers' hometown of Las Vegas, topped the UK Albums Chart and included a top-10 single on the UK Singles Chart.[1] Flowers toured internationally in support of the album, receiving rave reviews for his live performances.[2] [3] Flowers then put his solo career on hiatus while he pursued collaborations with The Killers including the UK number-one album Battle Born.[4]

In February 2015, Flowers released a teaser video on his website as well as a hand written note stating, "May 18, 2015 We will finally achieve The Desired Effect. Ariel and I have been collaborating in the studio, working together in the spirit of conversation, contention, and at long last, Sweet contrition. No one has yet seen or heard the change. But soon, we all will."[5] [6]

Recording

The Desired Effect was recorded primarily at The Killers' studio, Battle Born Studios in Winchester, Nevada. The album was produced by Ariel Rechtshaid and mixed by Alan Moulder.[5] The album features notable musicians including Neil Tennant (Pet Shop Boys),[7] Bruce Hornsby, Tony Levin (Peter Gabriel), Carlos Alomar (David Bowie), Joey Waronker (Beck), Kenny Aronoff (John Mellencamp), Ronnie Vannucci, Jr. (The Killers), Angel Deradoorian (Dirty Projectors), and Danielle Haim (Haim).[8]

Promotion

"Can't Deny My Love" was released as the lead single on March 23, 2015. It also served as an instant download for pre-orders of the album. Flowers released a series of promotional video clips announcing the single.[9] [10] [11] [12] [13] Flowers also released a series of promotional video clips announcing second single "Still Want You".[14] [15] [16] [17] [18] He released the music video exclusively on Vessel.com[19] [20] A lyric video was released for "I Can Change".[21]

Flowers performed "Can't Deny My Love" on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on March 23, 2015.[22] He performed both "Can't Deny My Love" and "Lonely Town" on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on May 7.[23] On May 13, he appeared on The Late Late Show with James Corden to perform "Lonely Town".[24] Two days later, on May 15, Flowers performed "I Can Change" on The Graham Norton Show.[25] On May 20, Flowers performed a set at Maida Vale Studios on BBC Radio 2 Live Session with Jo Whiley;[26] The Desired Effect was featured the record of the week (May 9)[27] Flowers performed "Can't Deny My Love", "Lonely Town", and "Still Want You" on DirecTV's Guitar Center Sessions on May 29, hosted by Nic Harcourt.[28] He performed "Still Want You" on the Strictly Come Dancing results show on November 15.[29]

In March 2015, Flowers announced a European leg of The Desired Effect Tour in promotion of the album. The leg began in Dublin, Ireland on May 19, and moved onto the UK starting in London on May 21. On tour Flowers was joined by guests on stage including Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders and Bernard Sumner of New Order.[30] [31] In April 2015, Flowers announced a North American solo tour, which ran from July 27 through October 1.[32] [33] [34] He also performed at the Austin City Limits Music Festival and at Life Is Beautiful.

Critical reception

The Desired Effect received critical acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 75, based on 25 reviews. Matt Yates of Q wrote, "Big, bold and joyful, it's exactly what a great pop album should be." Neil McCormick of The Sunday Telegraph called it a "set of perfectly honed pop-rock burnished with immense choruses" and wrote that, "every track offers up a smart blend of snappy lyrics and catchy hooks."[35] Mark Beaumont of NME wrote, "The Desired Effect is a consistently impressive collection."[36] Sarah Jamieson of DIY wrote "Brandon is still very much the star of this show... he's always been at his most comfortable creating huge pop songs and with his last solo effort, he proved to do just that."[37]

Andy Gill of The Independent called it "a series of huge-sounding, stadium-ready pop anthems of undeniable charm." Lewis Corner of Digital Spy called it, "an astute and vivid record."[38] Sarah Rodman of The Boston Globe wrote, "The other predicted effect of the album? A desire to play it repeatedly."[39] Darryl Sterdan of The Observer wrote, "Worth your time."[40] Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone wrote, "The Desired Effect is something rare—the best straight-up pop album made by a rock star in recent memory."[41]

The album won the 2015 AML Award in the "Lyrics" category.[42]

Accolades

PublicationCountryAccoladeYearRank
AllMusicUnited StatesBest of 2015 Favorite Pop Albums[43] 2015
Daily HeraldUnited StatesAlbums of the (half) year[44] 2015
DIYUnited KingdomThe DIY List 2015: The Year In Music (100 Best Albums of 2015)[45] 2015
GigwiseUnited KingdomGigwise's Albums of the Year[46] 2015
IdolatorUnited States2015's Best Albums: Idolator Editors Pick Their Favorite 15[47] 2015
Los Angeles TimesUnited StatesBest of 2015: 10 Great Pop Albums from 2015[48] 2015
MashableUnited StatesThe 30 Best Albums of 2015[49] 2015
NMEUnited Kingdom50 New Records You Need to Hear In 2015[50] 2015
PopCrushUnited StatesBest Albums of 2015 (So Far)[51] 2015
United States2015's Top Albums[52] 2015
SpinUnited StatesThe 25 Best Pop Albums of 2015[53] 2015
StereogumUnited StatesThe 50 Best Albums of 2015 So Far[54] 2015
USA TodayUnited StatesThe 10 Best Albums of 2015 So Far[55] 2015

Commercial performance

The Desired Effect debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart with first week sales of 31,077 copies, making it Flowers' second solo number-one album and sixth overall, including work by the Killers.[56] In the United States, the album sold the seventh most copies its debut week, but due to the inclusion of streaming data, it charted at number 17. At the mid-year mark, the album was the 38th best-selling album of the year in the UK.[57]

Single "I Can Change" charted on the UK Singles and Irish Singles charts. Singles "Can't Deny My Love" and "Lonely Town" charted on the US Hot Rock Songs chart. The album was certified Gold by the BPI in April 2017.

Track listing

All tracks produced by Ariel Rechtshaid, except "The Way It's Always Been" produced by Brandon Flowers and "Between Me and You" produced by Robert Root.

Sample credits

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of The Desired Effect.[58]

Musicians

Technical

Artwork

Charts

Year-end charts

Release history

RegionDateFormat(s)Edition(s)Label
IrelandMay 15, 2015StandardIsland
United KingdomMay 18, 2015
United StatesMay 19, 2015

Notes and References

  1. Brandon Flowers. Billboard. September 13, 2010.
  2. Web site: The 15 Best Shows of the Summer. Spin. September 7, 2010.
  3. Web site: Brandon Flowers Plots Tour Dates. Spin. September 13, 2010.
  4. Web site: The Killers notch up fourth UK Number 1 album with Battle Born. Official Charts Company.
  5. Brandon Flowers Will Achieve 'The Desired Effect' on New Solo Album. Rolling Stone. February 24, 2015.
  6. Web site: Brandon Flowers. brandonflowersmusic.com.
  7. Brandon Flowers Used a Neil Tennant Voicemail Message on a New Song. Billboard. March 26, 2015.
  8. Web site: Danielle Haim, Neil Tennant + more for Brandon Flowers' album. Andrew Trendell. Gigwise.
  9. CDML #1. March 2, 2015. YouTube.
  10. CDML #2. March 10, 2015. YouTube.
  11. CDML #3. March 14, 2015. YouTube.
  12. CDML #4. March 16, 2015. YouTube.
  13. CDML #6. March 22, 2015. YouTube.
  14. VOX. April 7, 2015. YouTube.
  15. DRUMS. March 18, 2015. YouTube.
  16. KEYS. February 20, 2015. YouTube.
  17. BASS. March 12, 2015. YouTube.
  18. STRINGS. April 9, 2015. YouTube.
  19. Web site: Brandon Flowers unveils new video for 'Still Want You'. Rebecca Schiller. gigwise.com.
  20. Web site: Brandon Flowers Proclaims His Undying Love in 'Still Want You' Video. Spin. April 11, 2015.
  21. Brandon Flowers – I Can Change (Lyric Video). May 21, 2015. YouTube.
  22. Web site: Brandon Flowers: Can't Deny My Love. NBC.com. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20150327000627/http://www.nbc.com/the-tonight-show/segments/116011. March 27, 2015. mdy-all.
  23. Web site: Jimmy Kimmel Live : Jason Schwartzman, Hailee Steinfeld, Music from Brandon Flowers Watch Full Episode – 05/07/2015. ABC.
  24. Brandon Flowers: Lonely Town. May 14, 2015. YouTube.
  25. Web site: BBC One – The Graham Norton Show, Series 17, Episode 6. BBC.
  26. Web site: BBC Radio 2 – Jo Whiley, Brandon Flowers in Session. BBC.
  27. Web site: BBC 2 – Playlist. Radio 2.
  28. Web site: Brandon Flowers. guitarcenter.com. June 2, 2015. June 9, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150609034235/http://sessions.guitarcenter.com/brandon-flowers/. dead.
  29. Web site: Strictly Come Dancing 2015: week eight – as it happened. Hannah Verdier Heidi. Stephens. November 15, 2015. October 2, 2016. The Guardian.
  30. Watch Chrissie Hynde and Brandon Flowers Perform Together. Rolling Stone. May 23, 2015.
  31. Watch Brandon Flowers, Bernard Sumner Play New Order Classic. Rolling Stone. May 25, 2015.
  32. Web site: Brandon Flowers 2015 North American Solo Tour Schedule . April 27, 2015 . May 4, 2015.
  33. Web site: Brandon Flowers Announces 2015 Solo Tour Dates . April 20, 2015 . May 4, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150504193817/http://radio.com/2015/04/20/brandon-flowers-tour-dates-2015/ . May 4, 2015 . dead .
  34. Web site: Brandon Flowers Announces North American Solo Tour . April 21, 2015 . May 4, 2015.
  35. News: Brandon Flowers, The Desired Effect, review: 'perfectly honed pop-rock'. Neil McCormick. May 9, 2015. Telegraph.co.uk. London.
  36. Web site: NME Reviews – Brandon Flowers – 'The Desired Effect'. Mark Beaumont. May 1, 2015. NME.
  37. Web site: Brandon Flowers – The Desired Effect. DIY.
  38. Web site: Brandon Flowers: The Desired Effect album review – An astute and vivid record. Digital Spy. May 18, 2015.
  39. Web site: CD review: Brandon Flowers, 'The Desired Effect'. The Boston Globe.
  40. Web site: Flowers, Weller top this week's new music. Sarnia Observer.
  41. Brandon Flowers's New Album: The Desired Effect. Rolling Stone. May 19, 2015.
  42. Web site: 2015 AML Awards Finalists #4: Lyrics, Picture Book, and Poetry . Hall . Andrew . . February 4, 2016 . February 4, 2016.
  43. Web site: Albums of the (half) year. AllMusic.
  44. Web site: Albums of the (half) year. Daily Herald.
  45. Web site: THE DIY LIST 2015: THE YEAR IN MUSIC. DIY.
  46. Web site: Gigwise's Albums of the Year. Gigwise.
  47. Web site: 2015's Best Albums: Idolator Editors Pick Their Favorite 15. Idolator. December 7, 2015 .
  48. Web site: Best of 2015: 10 Great Pop Albums from 2015. LATIMES.COM. Los Angeles Times. December 11, 2015.
  49. Web site: The 30 best albums of 2015. Yohana Desta, Tricia Gilbride and Chris Grasinger. Mashable. December 15, 2015.
  50. Web site: 50 New Records You Need To Hear in 2015. NME.
  51. Web site: Best Albums of 2015 (So Far!). PopCrush. May 26, 2015 .
  52. Web site: 2015's top albums. The San Francisco Examiner. December 31, 2015. October 2, 2016.
  53. Web site: The 25 Best Pop Albums of 2015. Spin. December 7, 2015.
  54. Web site: Brandon Flowers – The Desired Effect (Island/Virgin EMI). Stereogum. June 5, 2015.
  55. News: The 10 best albums of 2015 (so far). USA Today .
  56. Web site: Copsey . Rob . Brandon Flowers' album has The Desired Effect on the Official Albums Chart . Official Charts Company . May 24, 2015.
  57. Web site: Copsey . Rob . The Official Top 40 Biggest Artist Albums of 2015 revealed . Official Charts Company . January 5, 2016.
  58. The Desired Effect . liner notes . . . 2015 . B0022990-02.
  59. Amprofon . AMPROFON . Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas . 611647106370048000 . The Desired Effect de @BrandonFlowers puesto #15 del #Top100MX del 18 al 24 de mayo #DIscoNuevo . Spanish . June 18, 2015 . June 22, 2015.
  60. Web site: End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2015 . Official Charts Company . April 29, 2016.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "The Desired Effect".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.