Going it alone in the music world can be a complicated affair when you haven't quit your day job yet. Kick-off a solo bid with too familiar a sound and you risk upstaging the band that helped get you where you are today. That's why many indie frontmen, from the Strokes' Julian Casablancas to Radiohead's Thom Yorke, ditch their guitars and step into the realm of electronic music for their debut solo releases - crafting songs that show-off their ingenuity, rather than challenging the hit-making potential of their bands. But nobody told Brandon Flowers that.
With his album Flamingo, the Killers frontman has embarked on a solo career with his sights fixed firmly on the charts. Is it enough to give his bandmates reason to feel nervous about the group's future? Maybe. The record takes its cues from some of the biggest artists of the past 30 years: most notably U2, Bruce Springsteen and? The Killers. Indeed, the scale of Flowers' ambition can be illustrated by his pick of producers; Daniel Lanois, Brendan O'Brien and Stuart Price - the very men who helped the aforementioned artists forge some of their biggest releases to date. So much for the low-fi releases that many of Flowers' contemporaries pin their solo hopes upon.
The lead single, Crossfire, kicks-off subtly enough, with a 4/4 beat, atmospheric keys and a meandering bass line, before Flowers interjects with a slow, smouldering melody. But he doesn't hold back for long, the song quickly erupts into something deserving of Bono's trademark falsetto, particularly when its "lay your body down/lay your body down/lay your body" refrain arrives. But alongside the stadium-sized ballads, the album is littered with the faded ephemera of Americana. After the sound of crickets and the hum of distant freeways, which provide Flamingo's opening seconds, the song Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas features a woozy Eagles guitar hum and lyrics about "dreamers, harlots and sin" in Flowers' home city, where "the house will always win".
In many ways, the album recaps the various stages of The Killers' hugely successful career. Jilted Lovers & Broken Hearts recreates a thumping hunger of early hit Mr Brightside, although not as well. Magdalena is reminiscent of the Springsteen-lite songwriting of the group's second effort, Sam's Town, while Only the Young could have appeared on their last release, Day & Age. And therein lies the problem. While Flowers does a fine job of emulating the best achievements of his own group and his musical heroes, the album never moves beyond skilful mimicry.
Killers fans are unlikely to begrudge the singer's choice to stick with a winning formula, but anyone with existing reservations about the band is likely to have those misgivings reinforced. Flowers' strained vocals and frequently clunky and overpoweringly sincere lyrics are at the forefront of Flamingo, and even production this rich can't make-up for that. But the album, with its huge choruses and time-tested atmospherics, marks the beginning of a solo career that seems destined to succeed. Whether or not this means the Killers are dead in the water is anyone's guess, but Flowers certainly isn't acting like a man in mourning.
U2 - The Joshua Tree (1986) The band's landmark fifth album, also produced by Daniel Lanois, was Bono's attempt to "dismantle the mythology of America" and in the words of Rolling Stone magazine, transformed the band "from heroes to superstars". Now the gold standard for all aspiring writers of emotionally driven rock anthems. Bruce Springsteen - The Rising (2002) Inspired by the events of 9/11, Springsteen entered the studio for the first time in seven years - reuniting with the E-Street Band for the first time since 1984 - to make an album that straddled several decades of US rock and, as confirmed by its rapturous reception, was his best output in years. Kings of Leon - Only by the Night (2008) With their fourth album, the Tennessee rockers completed their metamorphosis from scrappy Southern good ol' boys into well-oiled, arena-hopping rock stars, while somehow managing to make music that was both forward-looking and true to their roots.
Book%20Details
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Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
TYPES%20OF%20ONLINE%20GIG%20WORK
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The Bio
Favourite vegetable: “I really like the taste of the beetroot, the potatoes and the eggplant we are producing.”
Holiday destination: “I like Paris very much, it’s a city very close to my heart.”
Book: “Das Kapital, by Karl Marx. I am not a communist, but there are a lot of lessons for the capitalist system, if you let it get out of control, and humanity.”
Musician: “I like very much Fairuz, the Lebanese singer, and the other is Umm Kulthum. Fairuz is for listening to in the morning, Umm Kulthum for the night.”
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Constant Variable (CVT)
Power: 141bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh64,500
On sale: Now
Heather, the Totality
Matthew Weiner,
Canongate
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Dhadak
Director: Shashank Khaitan
Starring: Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khattar, Ashutosh Rana
Stars: 3
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
SM Town Live is on Friday, April 6 at Autism Rocks Arena, Dubai. Tickets are Dh375 at www.platinumlist.net
Motori Profile
Date started: March 2020
Co-founder/CEO: Ahmed Eissa
Based: UAE, Abu Dhabi
Sector: Insurance Sector
Size: 50 full-time employees (Inside and Outside UAE)
Stage: Seed stage and seeking Series A round of financing
Investors: Safe City Group
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Past winners of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
2016 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
2015 Nico Rosberg (Mercedes-GP)
2014 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-GP)
2013 Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)
2012 Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus)
2011 Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
2010 Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)
2009 Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing)
The biog
Name: Shamsa Hassan Safar
Nationality: Emirati
Education: Degree in emergency medical services at Higher Colleges of Technology
Favourite book: Between two hearts- Arabic novels
Favourite music: Mohammed Abdu and modern Arabic songs
Favourite way to spend time off: Family visits and spending time with friends
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
Basquiat in Abu Dhabi
One of Basquiat’s paintings, the vibrant Cabra (1981–82), now hangs in Louvre Abu Dhabi temporarily, on loan from the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.
The latter museum is not open physically, but has assembled a collection and puts together a series of events called Talking Art, such as this discussion, moderated by writer Chaedria LaBouvier.
It's something of a Basquiat season in Abu Dhabi at the moment. Last week, The Radiant Child, a documentary on Basquiat was shown at Manarat Al Saadiyat, and tonight (April 18) the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is throwing the re-creation of a party tonight, of the legendary Canal Zone party thrown in 1979, which epitomised the collaborative scene of the time. It was at Canal Zone that Basquiat met prominent members of the art world and moved from unknown graffiti artist into someone in the spotlight.
“We’ve invited local resident arists, we’ll have spray cans at the ready,” says curator Maisa Al Qassemi of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.
Guggenheim Abu Dhabi's Canal Zone Remix is at Manarat Al Saadiyat, Thursday April 18, from 8pm. Free entry to all. Basquiat's Cabra is on view at Louvre Abu Dhabi until October
Diriyah%20project%20at%20a%20glance
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The 12 Syrian entities delisted by UK
Ministry of Interior
Ministry of Defence
General Intelligence Directorate
Air Force Intelligence Agency
Political Security Directorate
Syrian National Security Bureau
Military Intelligence Directorate
Army Supply Bureau
General Organisation of Radio and TV
Al Watan newspaper
Cham Press TV
Sama TV
Sunday's games
Liverpool v West Ham United, 4.30pm (UAE)
Southampton v Burnley, 4.30pm
Arsenal v Manchester City, 7pm
JOKE'S%20ON%20YOU
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In numbers
1,000 tonnes of waste collected daily:
- 800 tonnes converted into alternative fuel
- 150 tonnes to landfill
- 50 tonnes sold as scrap metal
800 tonnes of RDF replaces 500 tonnes of coal
Two conveyor lines treat more than 350,000 tonnes of waste per year
25 staff on site
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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MATCH INFO
Real Madrid 2 (Benzema 13', Kroos 28')
Barcelona 1 (Mingueza 60')
Red card: Casemiro (Real Madrid)
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
