Spring Break
Franz Ferdinand experiment on 'Tonight'
3 and a half out of 5 stars
Fernando Dutra
Issue date: 1/29/09 Section: Focus
A throbbing bass beat eases listeners into "Ulysses," the first track and single off of Franz Ferdinand's "Tonight." As frontman Alex Kapranos says "Come on, let's get high," it's difficult not to think of the song as a response to its previous album's lead single, "Do You Want To?" The song fits in effortlessly with the rest of Franz's catalogue until, suddenly, it erupts into a pre-chorus with crunching Polyvox synthesizer.
As opposed to its previous efforts, Franz Ferdinand offers a lush assortment of instruments, concerned mostly with getting people to dance to its music as its first album accomplished.
This leads to experimentation throughout the album, particularly with an emphasis on electronic instrumentation. After four-and-a-half minutes, the otherwise mediocre "Lucid Dreams" turns into a synth-heavy jam session that would fit in with a Mindless Self Indulgence track. Kapranos mentioned in interviews before the album's release that it would sport more African influences, which turns out to be the saving grace of "Can't Stop Feeling" (besides Franz using a human skeleton as an xylophone in the song). In "Tonight," lyrics are discarded in favor of atmospheric dance songs, readily featuring "la-la-la"s and "do-do-do"s.
The more listeners hear of "Tonight," the more superficial it sounds. Gone is the fun nature of Franz Ferdinand, replaced instead with a controlled chaos. The band seems concerned with offering a bit of everything: "No You Girls" has arena-ready rock, "Twilight Omens" features a distilled signature Franz Ferdinand sound, and "Katherine Kiss Me" could be considered an intimate follow-up to "Eleanor Put Your Boots On."
The extensive use of electronic equipment enhances some songs, but it is at the expense of the raw sound that once launched the band into fame. Franz Ferdinand is no longer a dance-punk band. It has conscientiously moved away from being, as Kapranos said in an interview, a "pop band." Instead, there are dub influences throughout the album. In fact, there is a deluxe edition that includes dub remixes of several of the songs on the album. This extra disc should be reserved for the most loyal of fans since the remixes do little to enhance the originals.
As opposed to its previous efforts, Franz Ferdinand offers a lush assortment of instruments, concerned mostly with getting people to dance to its music as its first album accomplished.
This leads to experimentation throughout the album, particularly with an emphasis on electronic instrumentation. After four-and-a-half minutes, the otherwise mediocre "Lucid Dreams" turns into a synth-heavy jam session that would fit in with a Mindless Self Indulgence track. Kapranos mentioned in interviews before the album's release that it would sport more African influences, which turns out to be the saving grace of "Can't Stop Feeling" (besides Franz using a human skeleton as an xylophone in the song). In "Tonight," lyrics are discarded in favor of atmospheric dance songs, readily featuring "la-la-la"s and "do-do-do"s.
The more listeners hear of "Tonight," the more superficial it sounds. Gone is the fun nature of Franz Ferdinand, replaced instead with a controlled chaos. The band seems concerned with offering a bit of everything: "No You Girls" has arena-ready rock, "Twilight Omens" features a distilled signature Franz Ferdinand sound, and "Katherine Kiss Me" could be considered an intimate follow-up to "Eleanor Put Your Boots On."
The extensive use of electronic equipment enhances some songs, but it is at the expense of the raw sound that once launched the band into fame. Franz Ferdinand is no longer a dance-punk band. It has conscientiously moved away from being, as Kapranos said in an interview, a "pop band." Instead, there are dub influences throughout the album. In fact, there is a deluxe edition that includes dub remixes of several of the songs on the album. This extra disc should be reserved for the most loyal of fans since the remixes do little to enhance the originals.
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