So the new Franz Ferdinand album leaked.

Sure, we have Franz to blame for the influx of countless rock bands who try to add some groove to their sub-standard guitar pop but end up only shoving out a shallow imitation of the funk that makes you want to dance around your room. And I admit, I wasn’t really even waiting for Tonight: Franz Ferdinand because the second album You Could Have It So Much Better was such a dismally boring album full of uninteresting tripe (although it did have its moments – “Outsiders” and “The Fallen” are absolutely brilliant). But we do have to remember that the band’s self-titled debut is one of the best debuts of the current decade and still sounds refreshingly jubilant and great despite all the countless pale imitations it produced afterwards. I always meant to check out the third album at some point to see if the band really is just a one-album wonder and here we are.

You know that rather limp preview track “Lucid Dreams” that was released sometime ago? Yeah, well, on the album it’s an 8-minute groove jam-out.

And that’s the name of the game. Tonight is funky. F U N K Y. A fuzzed-out bass is the key instrument on the whole album and it chants out basslines so thick and groovy that it forces every single bone on you to bounce to the rhythm and dance. At the same time the album has a downright neurotic vibe to it. You’re dancing out and having the night of your life but the guy you’re dancing with is the same madman who’s been stalking you and watching you through the bedroom window for the past weeks. Warped retro keyboards fuzz and simmer on pretty much every song and sound downright manic in every good way possible.

It isn’t until the final steps when the fuzz bass lets down its hold and the groove stops. “Dream Again” offers a pretty much electronic little moodpiece, while “Katherine Kiss Me” follows the way of the second album’s “Eleanor Put Your Boots On” and goes acoustic. Unlike Eleanor’s rather uninteresting pace, Katherine closes the album in a nicely calm note after around 40 minutes of wild maniac groove. In fact, it would work even better right after the extended jam of “Lucid Dreams” but Dream Again is in the middle and based after the first listen, that nice but not too good mood piece could do with a ditching.

Sod knows how well this takes re-listening, but right now Tonight is not only a rather great comeback that completely washes away the bad taste of You Could Have It So Much Better, but also starts a new music year in a rather excellent way.

Ulysses

Tags: Franz Ferdinand

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 10th, 2009 at 10:01 pm and is filed under Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.