Franz Ferdinand, Tonight: Franz Ferdinand – Music Review

Posted on 14. Mar, 2009 by Administrator in Music

Wary of the devastating effects a poorly-received third album can have on a band’s career, Franz Ferdinand decided to push the envelope a bit on Tonight by trying to balance their pop sensibilities with their artier side. Unfortunately, most of the new hooks don’t measure up to those on the past releases, and if the band’s idea of experimenting means replacing those great angular guitar riffs with excessive synth parts, Alex Kapranos and company should be banned from all things digital. Although there are some solid moments, the album’s mostly comprised of failed efforts to update,“Take Me Out”—which is not gonna help them avoid that third album curse.

Tonight’s first track and single, “Ulysses,” opens with an uninspired bass line and oh-so-sassy vocal delivery before the synth announces its unwanted presence with a part straight outta’ 90s techno. When the song’s chorus arrives you become acutely aware that you’ve heard this all before, and can’t help wonder what’s worse—the recycled melody or the band’s newfound zeal for rave riffs. Although the album isn’t chock full of synth, its presence is worrisome because it means Franz is running out of those precision guitar chops that made them stand out in 2004. The next two tracks, “Turn It On” and “No You Girls”—although absent of the ruinous synth—fair no better in offering up any variety in vocal melody, but at least make for passable party jams. “Twilight Omens” is noteworthy for the affected piano plinks and rhythmic swagger, but that’s about it. “Send Him Away” is one of the better songs on the disc for its clever use of percussion and (finally) an infectious vocal melody, and the guitar riff hints at the newer indie sounds of Vampire Weekend or Yeasayer (or maybe those bands’ African pop influences). “Live Alone” is a Blondie-inspired disco track—nothing wrong with that—and “Bite Hard” would be a great, aggressive post-punk tune if not for the return of the misplaced synth. “What She Came For,” despite the fun bass line, suffers the same fate, as does “Bite Hard” and “Can’t Stop Feeling.”

Franz Ferdinand only achieves greatness on the last three tracks: “Lucid Dreams” is a total dance freak-out and the only appropriate use of synth on this album. Around the 2:35 mark the track erupts into a psychedelic acid-house-guitar-and-noise orgy, and you could argue that’s its one of the fresher things you’ve heard this year (why couldn’t tracks 1-9 have been more like this?). The song then transitions into “Dream Again,” an atmospheric, melancholic pop song that floats on a bed of air instead of a pounding dance groove. The album’s closer, “Katherine Kiss Me” is a simple, soothing acoustic ballad that offers a nice come down from an album that, at best, plays like a night of (mostly) bad decisions. Third album’s not a charm, it would seem. –Bill Dvorak

Good For: Throwing at people, anyone awaking from a 5 year coma, Biting Hard, Radio Shack employees