Tonight: Franz Ferdinand
By Nick Manteris · 0 Comments · Leave a Comment
Tonight: Franz Ferdinand doesn’t sound exactly like the Franz Ferdinand that you remember. The production levels on this album are a definite step up from the previous two releases and the most striking new element is the rich, full sound. They also toned down the guitars and added some synthesizers to the mix, while still managing to retain most of their signature sound. In fact, some of the new tracks sound like direct descendants of some of their older songs and it would have been nice to hear them push the boundaries a bit more. The only real risk they take is in the second half of "Lucid Dreams” where the song devolves into an almost industrial electronic dance-type groove. It’s a refreshing new exploration from the band, but many will probably hate it.
As for things that people will love, however, there is unfortunately not a “Take Me Out” or a “Do You Want To” to be found on Tonight: Franz Ferdinand. There might not be any truly great songs on this album, but the number of better than average songs here is two or three times greater than either of their past releases. And the number of average songs has the opposite ratio…the only average tracks are “Turn it On” and “Live Alone.” The bad news is that this might have been received as Franz Ferdinand’s most cohesive and consistently good release to date if “Send Him Away,” “Twilight Omens” and the two closing tracks had been left off.
- Score
- 67%
Tonight: Franz Ferdinand is a slight change in sound for the band, but not much of a change in direction. This album would have been great instead of just good if they had only left off a third of the songs and released it as (barely more than) an EP, though everyone would undoubtedly have complained about the length…sometimes you just can’t win.
