Send "Franz Ferdinand " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Ew |
 New sounds show up gradually over the course of Franz Ferdinand's third album: a groove that's more rubbery than usual here, a hint of dreamy synth there. Those flourishes never add up to a radical reinvention. But they don't need to, as long as the group's dance-punk formula remains in working order. The mix of Alex Kapranos' louche croon with the band's disciplined racket is still a knockout, and they've switched things up enough to keep it interesting...full text |
| Blogs.courant |
| The second album from Scottish quartet Franz Ferdinand wasn't a letdown exactly, but it was certainly less focused than the band's knife-point debut in 2004. Their third effort finds a balance. "Tonight: Franz Ferdinand" (Epic) is more cohesive than the group's second release, but not as overtly catchy as the first. It's the sound of a band maturing on 12 new songs that are less frenetic and more considered, starting with lead single "Ulysses." The austere beat that opens the song becomes a foundation for a grunting wash of synthesizers and guitars leading up to the chorus, and singer Alex Kapranos moves easily between conspiratorial low tones and quick falsetto phrases....full text |
| Sputnikmusic |
| If there's one indie who don't need telling that they should just concentrate on being a great pop band, it's Franz Ferdinand; and yet, that's exactly how much of the popular media will probably respond to this, the band's third full-length. Eschewing the darker, more psychedelic edges of You Could Have It So Much Better and replacing the diversity they provided with a renewed focus on synthesizers and electronic textures, it's probably exactly how the writers of sub-tabloid gossip magazines like Heat, Bliss, and New Musical Express imagined how things would turn out when the news was leaked that Franz were working with Xenomania. Certainly a lot of the latter's trademarks permeate the album, most tellingly their glossy and vocal-centric production. It should, in theory, make for a very average album. You Could Have It So Much Better was a bold step forward from their debut, a movement into areas darker and more mature than their 'music for girls to dance to' schtick would have you believe. On the surface, at least, Tonight: Franz Ferdinand largely suspends that, failing to capitalize on the success of tracks like "Eleanor, Put Your Boots On". And this is before we consider that. in adopting synthesizers, Franz are bowing to current trends, nodding in the direction of nu-rave and the ever-growing influence of acts like The Klaxons. And yet somehow, despite all that, it's another improvement - not necessarily a step forward in their sound as such, but certainly a refinement of the debut that eliminates the filler and updates the sound without sounding like an attempt to pander to the Mighty Boosh-worshipping university students of the latter half of the decade....full text |
Franz Ferdinand lyrics
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