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On January 26, "Tonight: Franz Ferdinand" was released, the third album by the Scottish band. Twelve tracks for about forty minutes. So, what's the big deal? Well, the "Franz Ferdinand" are once again garnering genuine acclaim after their self-titled debut album - hard to forget - and "You Could Have It So Much Better," which didn't quite achieve the same. To hell with the snobs: this time, it's not a concept album making waves, but a milestone and a partial (at last) maturation for the Archdukes.
Each track is at the same time an independent experience and part of the entire album: frantic guitars, syncopated bass, and dance rhythms alongside a new and conscious use of the synthesizer, making this record easily enjoyable but also rich in experiments and beautiful sounds. Opening with "Ulysses" and "No You Girls", the band delivers two hit-proof tracks that will get youngsters across Europe dancing during the 2009 tour (even the snobs). It continues with "Send Him Away", yet another confirmation that Franz Ferdinand is no longer just a dance band, but capable of surprising the listener with a bouncy folk tune. After the remarkable crescendo of "Bite Hard" and the tribal dance of "Can't Stop Feeling", comes "Lucid Dreams", with the frenzy and electronic experimentation (just a tad pretentious) of the last 3 minutes. Finally, "Katherine Kiss Me" - a guitar and voice piece closing the album - confirms the greater compositional awareness reached by leader Alex Kapranos.
Let's be clear, this is not an album with grand ambitions, nor is this the band that locks itself in the studio to produce the "great album"; it's precisely because of this that in its simplicity "Tonight: Franz Ferdinand" is an excellent work. Records like this should certainly come out more often.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Ulysses (03:11)
While I sit in here, a sentimental face stares And a voice says hi so So what you gotta what you gotta disdain C�mon let�s get high C�mon look so, you got next oh Walk twenty five miles oh Well I�m bored I�m bored C�mon let�s get high C�mon let�s get high C�mon let�s get high High Well I found a new way I found a new way C�mon doll and use me I don�t need your sympathy La, la la la la Ulixes I�ll find a new way I�ll find a new way, baby My Ulixes, My Ulixes No, bet you are now, boy So sinister, so sinister Last night was wild What�s a matter there, feeling kinda anxious? That heart that grew cold Yeah everyone, everybody knows it Yeah everyone, everybody know it Everybody knows I La, la la la la Ulysses I�ll find a new way I�ll find a new way, baby La, la la la la Ulixes I�ll find a new way Well I�ll find a new way, baby oh � Oh, then suddenly you know You�re never going home You�re never you�re never you�re never you�re never you�re never you�re never You�re never going home. Not Ulixes, baby. No, la la la la whooo whoo You�re not Ulixes, whooo whoo La la la la, whooo whoo
05 Twilight Omens (02:29)
I wrote your name upon the back of my hands
Slept upon it and I woke up with it
Backwards on my face
Reading forwards to my mirror to my heart
Twilight omens in my life
Then I hear your name
Hear the way you sing your name
Should I give you a call, what can I say?
Maybe, you still feel the same.
I typed your number into my calculator
Where it's spelled a dirty word
When you turn it upside down
You can turn my dirty world the bright way 'round
Twilight omens in my life
Then I hear your name
Hear the way you sing your name
Should I give you a call, what can I say?
Oh, maybe I still feel the same.
Twilight omens in my life
I keep hearing your name
I keep hearing your name
Keep hearing your name
I hear the radio sing your name
Hear the radio sing your name
Hear the radio sing your name
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