Tuesday 27 January 2009



Twilight omens

(photo: Percu)

(photo: Percu)

Like a third child born, Franz Ferdinand 3.0 arrives to much joy and anticipation from the band’s loyal family of fans, but the rest of the world isn’t as bothered as it might have once been to hear the news of a new album from the Scottish quartet.  As fresh-faced and exciting as they may have sounded back in 2004 and 2005, we’ve moved on, and with a four-plus year gap between album number 2 and number 3, Franz Ferdinand have some ground to make up.

Unfortunately, I don’t think Tonight: Franz Ferdinand is going to be the album to close the gap for them.  There isn’t anything particularly wrong with it, but the spark of creativity and exuberance that dazzled us when we first heard “Take Me Out” and “Do You Want To”.  Tonight… feels like it had a really long labour, and the band is just tired and glad to have the ordeal done.  It’s their “pop” album they say, but some of their choices seem at odds with that.  “Lucid Dreams” was first premiered on iTunes and a video game, and promised such great heights for this album.  It was rough-edged and catchy as all hell–in my opinion one of their best songs ever.  Now, on the album proper, it’s a bloated, uninteresting throw-away track that pulls the rest of the album down. I’ve read reviews that call album-version “Lucid Dreams” fantastic, and I have to question if that’s just because it’s so very different from what the rest of their canon sounds like.  Do we reward the experimentation regardless of how disjointed and unspectacular it is?  I’m all for stretching the boundaries and nurturing creativity, but there isn’t anything else on the album that even attempts to push the limits that far, so it is totally out of place and is a detriment.  I’m almost tempted to go in and swap versions in my iTunes library.

There’s more to Tonight… than just “Lucid Dreams” though, so with all due respect, let’s highlight some of the album’s finer points:  “What She Came For” has a dazzling supercharged guitar riff at the end that spikes the volume and intensity level up to 11.  “Katherine Kiss Me” soothes the savage beasts with a pretty acoustic strumming that contrasts the scuzzy dive-bar inspired lyrics to inspired effect.  This is experimentation that I can live with and appreciate.  By now you’ve heard “Ulysses”, a fine fine example of what this band can do when they’re on  form, and the punky “Bite Hard” is probably in line as the next single, but overall, Tonight: Franz Ferdinand falls short of being a great album by more than just a few tracks.  You could have it so much better indeed.

MP3: Franz Ferdinand “Lucid Dreams”
MP3 Removed by request of Web Sheriff
Facebook: Franz Ferdinand
Myspace: Franz Ferdinand
Buy: Franz Ferdinand Tonight: Franz Ferdinand





by J. Di Gioia | 3 Comments »

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 27th, 2009 at 10:00 am and is filed under MP3. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

3 Responses to “Twilight omens”

Nick January 27th, 2009 at 5:02 pm

I had to comment on this review just because I disagree on some points very emphatically. Overall, I think Tonight is a great album. I do agree that Franz Ferdinand missed the mark of a “pop” album but it is a fantastic and innovative album regardless. “Ulysses” is a catchy and creative song although comes short of being a radio single. I disagree with you that “Bite Hard” is the logical choice for the next single – a 40 second intro that leads into an only semi-catchy, although anthem-esque, cry of “we ride together, bite hard” does not live up to Top 40 radio standards. Remember, FF is trying to measure up to “Take Me Out”. I agree that the non-album version of “Lucid Dreams” comes close to achieving this and yes is one of their best work. However, I do applaud Franz Ferdinand for putting the more experimental version of the song on the album. “Lucid Dreams” helped in promoting the album and in reality any one who bought the single would most likely buy the album just based on that piece alone. However, Franz Ferdinand then gives their fans a treat by putting the more intricate version on the album. I challenge you to listen to those last 3 minutes in your car with the radio on and the windows down and then not be thankful that FF offered that alternative version on their album.

Finally, I believe that you overlooked the most promising song on the entire album which I recently heard in the background during this year’s X-games – “Turn it On”. It’s delectably catchy, both poppy and distant, spacey and sing-alongy. If I had to guess, although it won’t be a radio hit, “Turn it On”, “Lucid Dreams” and “Ulysses” will be the main singles from the album.

So – I have trouble seeing where you think the album is lacking. The reason I commented on this is that I feel as though you didn’t give reasons as to why this was not a good effort from the band and how they “could have it so much better indeed”. Yes there is no individual song with a Guitar Hero-ready riff such as we had in “Take Me Out”. But, there is not one song that I think is really all that lacking. “Bite Hard” despite its inability for mass appeal, in my opinion, is a great song. “Twilight Omens” is one of those songs you may skip over after a couple listens of the album but its still a good track. “Can’t Stop Feeling” is a possible single. Actually, most of the songs on the album could equate to singles – most bands of Franz Ferdinand’s caliber would kill for a handful of the tracks on this album.

To your readers just to get another side of the album – I was not some avid fan of Franz Ferdinand but got excited for the album because of “Lucid Dreams”. It is a fantastic effort from the band showing much more musical maturity than any of their previous releases. You will find outstanding and addictive dance bass on many of the tracks, catchy but insightful lyrics, well-constructed songs, an English accent, and a sense of structure and purpose on Tonight: Franz Ferdinand. It is an amazing release from the band and if it had been released a month earlier it would have been in the Top 5 Albums of 2008.

Jim January 27th, 2009 at 9:03 pm

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and opinions, Nick. I’ve always hoped that QBiM can be a forum where others feel free to share their thoughts and opinions, too. I think I’m still torn on this album. Part of me does actually like it, but I can’t help but shake the sense that it’s missing an intangible element. Maybe I need to take another close listen to it.

Web Sheriff January 28th, 2009 at 9:16 am

WEB SHERIFF
Protecting Your Rights on the Internet
Tel 44-(0)208-323 8013
Fax 44-(0)208 323 8080
websheriff@websheriff.com
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WITHOUT PREJUDICE

Hi QBiM,

On behalf of Domino Records and Franz Ferdinand, we would kindly ask you
not to post copies of “Tonight” on your site (or any non-preview tracks
from the artist’s new album – street date 26th January).

We do appreciate that you are fans of / are promoting Franz Ferdinand,
but the label and artist would greatly appreciate your co-operation in
removing your links to the pirate files in question.

Thank you for respecting the artist’s and label’s wishes … .. and, if
you / your readers want good quality, non-pirated, official preview
tracks, “Ulysses” is available for fans and bloggers to link to / post /
host etc … .. check-out the artist’s MySpace and YouTube for audio and
video streams at http://www.myspace.com/franzferdinand and
http://www.youtube.com/user/franzferdinand … .. and, for info on
“Tonight” and the band’s 2009 shows, check-out
http://www.franzferdinand.co.uk.

As you will appreciate, this e-mail is written on a without prejudice
basis and, as such, all of our clients’ accumulated, worldwide rights
and remedies remain strictly reserved : please excuse this required
formality.

With Thanks & Regards,

WEB SHERIFF