Band – Franz Ferdinand
Album – Tonight: Franz Ferdinand
Record Label – Domino
Date Released – January 19th, 2009
Franz Ferdinand is back after a lengthy delay. After the smashing success of their debut, it didn’t take them long to follow up with You Could Have It So Much Better. It couldn’t get much better than that record for me. I loved the debut like so many did, but I felt like the second album was even better. Sure it had its Beatles flair, but I felt like it was a fitting sound for the band.
I don’t think 3 years is a long time for a band to wait between albums, but in todays music business that’s just long enough for people to forget about you. I’ll admit that I had forgotten about Franz for awhile. But when I heard Tonight was coming out early 2009, it quickly became on of my most anticipated albums.
It’s been a very slow 2009 for music and me thus far, so I’ve had plenty of time to spend with this album. It’s a good thing too, because at first I was disappointed. It’s different. It’s not rehashing of their prior work. But guess what, now that I’ve had a month with it – I love it. If you haven’t been a fan of their prior work, I suggest you check out this album too.
It’s so electronic it was a shock to me at first. But unlike the slew of bands that are now featuring synthesizers in the band, Franz does it splendidly. They didn’t add these electronic elements to “dance up” their sound but it’s unavoidable because it’s so well done. It doesn’t feel trite and cliché and it still feels like Franz Ferdinand. You can tell they really pushed themselves on Tonight.
The lead single “Ulysses” is the most electronic of the songs, but the vocal delivery of Alex Kapranos is so sultry that the song gets into your head and refuses to leave. “No You Girls” is the catchiest song on the album and probably the song that’s most likely to satisfy fans of the old sound. Oddly enough, Apple picked it up for one of their TV ads. I hope it does the band well. The rest of the album continues in similar fashion and I find very few low points. It also has a nice concept that ties it all together, but can be overlooked if you don’t like that sort of thing.
Favorite tracks – Ulysses, No You Girls, Bite Hard, Lucid Dreams
I agree absolutely with your review. It didn’t take me as long to get into “Tonight”, but it does need a few listens to fully appreciate that the album has the lyrical interest that we expect from Franz Ferdinand, as well as the hooks and melodies. I’m still not sure which songs I like best, as the album does seem to work as a whole, but I do love the sentiments and catchiness of “Live Alone”. It’s good, as well, to see that someone else appreciated the sophomore album “You Could Have It So Much Better” – a great mix of tracks and some perceptive lyrics. It’s really annoying how many reviewers, especially from the press, are now dismissing YCHISMB, after giving it a good review when it came out!