Brandon Flowers’s 2010 solo debut, Flamingo, seemed like an extension of his work with the Killers – essentially, blue-collar Springsteenisms given a U2 stadium sheen. The follow-up, produced by Charli XCX collaborator Ariel Rechtshaid, is a very different affair, Flowers’s flair for a hook harnessed to an unashamedly pop-leaning set of songs. In clumsier hands, Can’t Deny My Love might come across like a pastiche of 80s sounds, from its gated drums to its huge chorus, but the effect is triumphant here. Even better – and even more 80s-indebted – is I Can Change, built on a Bronski Beat sample. It’s hardly a forward-looking album, but nonetheless highly enjoyable.
