Life after American Idol is a delicate dance on coals for most who pass through the talent show. Customarily, winners/runners-up are called upon to record a crap forgettable single designed to accrue a modest number of spins on radio, and if they're lucky, they start to come into their own, then are allowed a chance to misstep for the sake of artistic growth. Then they finally hit their stride. It's here that we finally begin to regard this kind of Idol alum independently of the show that vaulted her to success. To that end, Adam Lambert's got a long, twisty path to pop stardom ahead of him. For Your Entertainment may make that ascent even more difficult.

In all fairness, it's been an excellent year for pop, whether you've been tracking the progress of unlikely power couples or smaller bands bent on maintaining their indie street-cred. That also means that it's a tough year for upstarts who are less than stellar. And it's here that For Your Entertainment, which has emerged across the internet days ahead of its release, comes at the worst time possible.

It's an average pop album that would've flourished in years past, but otherwise doesn't dent a year already full with excellence. Entertainment sizzles enough to get maybe a single listen, but very little of this overdone album leaves a lasting mark. You're thinking this must be such an edgy affair what with his being a gay and all. More edge than a disposable razor. The edgiest in all the fair land. Edgier than The Edge. It should be called For Your Edge, right? Edge! Edge! Edge!

Not so much.

In fact, you kind of resent Lambert for putting on this big ol' dog-and-pony about being "fierth!" and "so street" and running with the name "Glambert" upon hearing just how safe and restrained Entertainment is. First, a plus. There's a quiet bang in the form of "Broken Open". And that works. But that highlights how well Lambert handles these fauxer ballads, but struggles to set ears ablaze with his alleged anthems. It's those non-anthems, like the title track and the by-the-numbers Max Martin-produced "If I Had You," which dissolve into blippy, noisy messes punctuated by powerful-but-unfocused vocals. It all comes off as a sloppy jumble of Dadaist record studio experiments. Perhaps the only exception here is "Fever," which bears the mark of Lady Gaga as a contributing songwriter. And the Rivers Cuomo-penned "Pick U Up." By the way, that's edgy because "you" is spelled with a single letter.

But more on his strong suit. Songs like "Soaked" and "A Loaded Smile" take the time to build a melody and even play on Lambert's penchant for broody theatrics. He dazzles when he's allowed to be melodramatic. Sweeping slow-burners are his element.

Ultimately though, it's a pretty two-and-a-half out of five stars experience. More frustratingly, it makes dreary pop affairs like this glimmer in comparison. You want to like Entertainment, but it's a trumped-up bit of fluff. Ultimately, Entertainment is its own undoing. It tries too hard to engineer edge and in doing so it declaws any of the deviance that endeared us to him in the first place.

(Thankfully, there's always Kelly Clarkson.)