ARTIST: Franz Ferdinand
TITLE: Tonight: Franz Ferdinand
WEB DEBUT: Jan. 10, 2009
RELEASE DATE: Jan. 27, 2009
ONE-LISTEN VERDICT: Tonight lives up to its name in that its sequencing sort of mimics that of a lengthy night on the town. For the first two-thirds of the album, the Glaswegians are in prime post-dance-punk form: “Twilight Omens” winds around a synth burst that sounds like it was lifted from the Who’s sessions for “You Better You Bet”; “What She Came For” is prime Franz stripped down, with vocals that sound like they were recorded on a whim and a sort of speed-metal/rockabilly ending. But the centerpiece of the album is “Lucid Dreams,” which the band previewed on its site a few months ago and which here is stretched out into nearly eight minutes, the final four of which consist of grinding, pulsing mood music that could stretch on for hours if CDs didn’t have space limits. After the heady fade-out of “Dreams,” the album comes to a close with two quieter tracks—”Dream Again,” which opens in such a way that it sounds like the band’s collectively wiping the sleep from its eyes and goes on to channel the best downtempo moments of the electro outfit Broadcast, and the plain vocals-and-guitar “Katherine Kiss Me”—that signify the end of the party, and the long walk home.
THE BEST TRACK: “Dreams” is in a class of its own, but I also dig the sinewy “Live Alone,” which has a pogoing bassline and gleaming keyboard part that sounds like it was rescued from the band’s ill-fated sessions with the Girls Aloud producers Xenomania.
“No You Girls” was the immediate stand-out for me. Also, “Lucid Dreams” was an actual iTunes single, in the US and Canada.
Didn’t like the second album as much as the debut, but I’m liking this one a bunch.
Man, ‘09 is off to a great start. Really looking forward to this record, I watched the video for “Ulysses” multiple times last night. It just really hit the spot in a way it didn’t the first time I heard it.
I can’t wait to hear a better quality version of this over some nice speakers. I like it much more than I was expecting to so far, tho.
Enjoying this much more than that band with the extensive collection of animals.
I quite like it. Although the new version of “Lucid Dreams” is extremely weird. They said it would be different from the single version, but I didn’t know if it was THAT different.
Also, “What She Came For” = FTW.
So good…I had inital reservations over the changes to Lucid Dreams, but I’ve grown to love it. They’ve broadened their sound this time ’round, and I am really into it. I can’t wait until they announce US live dates, as their shows were the highlights of my year back in ‘06.
I had initial reservations over the changes to “Lucid Dreams” but after several listens I’ve really warmed up to it. “Dreams” along with “Ulysses” are strong enough to make me like the album alone, but everything else is up to par, so it’s really enjoyable. They’ve really expanded their sound…it seems a lot broader.
I can’t wait until they announce their US live dates, as their shows in 05-06 were the highlights of my year.
@kajsa: Crap, didn’t think that first one went through…