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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A bit of a shock....., 23 Jan 2009
.....But not an entirely unpleasant on. It does take some getting used to though. The first two albums were very guitar based and this leans heavily to a more electropop direction, so it seems very weird at first. 'No you girls' 'What She Came For' and 'Live Alone' is a very catchy typically Franz rock/pop song in the vein of 'Do you want to' but the other tracks so elements of Orange Juice/Lyndsey wells/8O's synth/90's break beats. The tempo of the songs often change at the beginning and mid stream e.g. 'Bite Hard, What She Came Fo" which makes all the more exciting and creative. 'Katherine Kiss Me', the last track is slow and acoustic and seems abit of an odd choice to end on. If you are sole fan of guitar based music - stay way. But if you like twists and turns and fancy something varied I heartily recommend it.
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11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Tonight: So Much Better!, 13 Feb 2009
Since the release of their eponymous debut back in 2004, Franz Ferdinand might be seen as something of an oddity amongst the vast majority of their contemporaries. Take for instance the likes of Kaiser Chiefs, Bloc Party, The Rakes, The Killers and just about any other band belonging to the new wave/disco genre that dominated the music scene five or six years ago. Each of these bands plus a whole host of others, of which there are far too many too mention, burst onto the scene offering such great promise and excitement, only to return with follow ups of such uninspired banality, it seemed hopeless to expect anyone to serve up a second offering of any genuine worth. Thankfully Franz Ferdinand managed to buck this trend of crashing disappointment by returning with 2005's 'You Could Have it So Much Better', an album charged with such unshakably infectious melodies and perfectly crafted pop songs, that many of the already lacklustre records being released at the time were rendered about as exciting as a mild bout of tinnitus. Anyway, having failed to disappoint us yet, Franz Ferdinand are back with their third album, 'Tonight: Franz Ferdinand'. With four years having passed since their previous outing, anticipation and expectation was always going to be high. Would they be able to deliver for a third time running? The answer is a resounding YES. Furthermore, this could well be their best record to date. The band combines their obvious disco-pop sensibilities with a newfound electronic element, creating a somewhat fuller texture that has not always evident in their previous albums. The most obvious example of this has to be `Lucid Dreams'. Arguably the defining highlight of 'Tonight: Franz Ferdinand', the song builds from a typically catchy verse into an enormous, synth-laden chorus, concluding with, an admittedly slightly drawn out, four minute long electro freak-out with the omission of guitars altogether. Other definite highlights include current single `Ulysses', a track that offers the melodic facets that dominated their debut, whilst clearly showing off their recent penchant for dirty synth hooks. `Turn it On' and `No You Girls' are instant crowd-pleasers, each with the potential for future singles. `Can't Stop Feeling' also deserves a mention, serving as perfect indicator as to how far they have come over the past four years, the track being driven by a stomping synth riff as the guitars, once again are put to one side. While critics of the band might argue that there isn't quite enough experimentation or risk taking on offer here to attract many new fans, they certainly aren't at risk of losing any. Ultimately, this is the sound of a band genuinely enjoying themselves in the studio, which is something that translates with absolute clarity. With a third, refreshingly strident album now under their belt, one can only hope that Franz Ferdinand will be able to maintain the same high standards on their fourth outing, and on this evidence, they should have no trouble in doing so.
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13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Better Than Hand Banana!, 29 Jan 2009
Franz Ferdinand are a band. Let's get that nice and sparkling clear, shall we? And, as such, bands make music. Sometimes they make a little music, sometimes they make a lot but they always can be counted on to know where exactly they came from. Now imagine, expanding on Armando Iannucci's analogy about how we indulge the creative members of our society, that Franz Ferdinand were butchers. Okay, so they turned up, all neatly dressed and hygienic, in 2004 and they did indeed chop some good meat. They filleted, they minced and they quite possibly even boned a little. And we all saw what they had done and we were pleased. The following year, they saw fit to make sausages and even showed us how to spatchcock a game bird or two. Well done, the Franz!
Now, after a long-deserved break, they return in 2009 - the year of the Ox - and suddenly Franz Ferdinand have gone cannibal on us. Gone are the carefree days of the Slap Rump or a generous bit of Top Bone action, now they want to eat you, body and soul. Something dark happened while they were away and now they want your blood. You can hear the pulsating jugular beat in opening track "Ulysses" and then pretty much everywhere else on the album. Flesh tears, tendons snap and bones are stripped clean as we descend into the Danza Macabra, the Zombie Jamboree. And finally (not including the superb Erol Alkan remix of "Do You Want To"), Franz are leading the charge back onto the dancefloors, where all good Pop music belongs.
Franz Ferdinand have never been a dark band, musically or otherwise, but this sees them finally shake off the formulaic "Mr Soft as performed by the Fire Engines" vibe that their previous two albums were mired in. Add to that the fact that Alex Kapranos, while clearly better dressed than 99% of his peers, is old enough to know better and so is possessed with the classier brand of Pop nous that age brings, and we could be looking at a band that will actually stand the test of time. They say you get the heroes you deserve and, in the same month that the NME somewhat pathetically pits a crass anachronism like Noel Gallagher up against Barack Obama as Hero of 2008, God only knows that we need some new ones.
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