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May 19, 2015With so much going on in these songs, they could easily have become overstuffed, but Moulder balances everything perfectly, creating a swell of sound that surrounds you with its hugeness, but doesn't lose clarity in the process. Suffice to say, this is a record that demands to be listened to on a pair of good headphones.
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May 18, 2015The genius thing about all this is that Flowers doesn't steal Jeff Lynne's hooks or ape Mark Knopfler's guitar sound (well, not exactly), he just imbues his productions with a distinct level of tangible homage.
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Oct 2, 2015The Desired Effect for a feel-good LP of self-discovery is coming-of-age stories that transform into lost Springsteen anthems. Mission accomplished.
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May 19, 2015The Desired Effect absolutely brims with pop-rock goodness, spanning several styles that are tied together by the singer’s gifts for combining an instantly memorable tune, clever turns of phrase, ace instrumentation, and his airy yet powerful voice.
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May 14, 2015It’s everything you wouldn’t expect and more.
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May 18, 2015Emotional, great and exhausting.
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May 14, 2015It’s Flowers’ unique presence--equal parts Wild West underdog and glitzy glam messiah--that really transforms Effect’s Reagan-era throwbacks into forward-thinking Instagram-age rock.
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May 15, 2015On The Desired Effect, Flowers aims to be loose and have some fun, but he also sounds more focused than ever. Flowers has spoken of a desire to write an album full of singles, and these songs almost reach that goal.
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MojoMay 20, 2015This album is brazenly in hock to the shoulder pad decade. Its telegraphed choruses will not be denied. [Jun 2015, p.88]
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May 19, 2015Overall, this is arguably the most consistent album Flowers has ever been involved with.
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May 12, 2015For all its slavering over archaic ‘80s production cheese, The Desired Effect is a consistently impressive collection--probably the strongest Brandon’s produced since 2006’s ‘Sam’s Town.’
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May 19, 2015The record is weighty, but with a defter, more nimble touch than on prior efforts.
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Q MagazineMay 12, 2015Big, bold and joyful, it's exactly what a great pop album should be. [Jun 2015, p.105]
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May 19, 2015Taken together, The Desired Effect is something rare--the best straight-up pop album made by a rock star in recent memory.
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May 19, 2015The Desired Effect is another gingerly step into the present, Flowers’ present. No one knows how he feels or what he says until you read between his lines.
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May 15, 2015The result is a series of huge-sounding, stadium-ready pop anthems of undeniable charm.
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Nov 23, 2015Somehow, despite his success, Flowers understands that good music isn’t about what you have, but what could have been, and although his wife must wonder who he’s singing about all the time, the rest of us can press our face against the windows of childhood car journeys, and dream.
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May 18, 2015It’s hardly a forward-looking album, but nonetheless highly enjoyable.
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May 12, 2015Every track offers up a smart blend of snappy lyrics and catchy hooks, and at least half are absolutely glorious.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 91 out of 100
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Mixed: 5 out of 100
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Negative: 4 out of 100
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Jun 7, 2015
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Sep 14, 2015
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Jun 25, 2015