Kanye West once described the sound of Franz Ferdinand as "White Crunk Music". I might as well pack my bags and go home because there's no better explanation for the music of the Scottish group, Franz Ferdinand. The group released their first 3 albums in a span of 5 years, so it's no wonder that we haven't seen them in a while. Well, all of a sudden, bam! We have a new Franz Ferdinand album on our hands to enjoy. Just hopefully it won't be another 4 years of waiting for the 5th studio album by the band, but I'm getting ahead of myself. Alex Kapranos was quoted saying that he wanted to keep their new record on the down-low until after it's new release after what went through with their third album, Tonight: Franz Ferdinand. Even though the band announced that they were working on a new album back in 2010, they didn't get around to announcing the title and the release date until May of 2013. Now that Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action has been released, let's take a listen.
Track 1: Right Action
Despite having the words "Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action" in the chorus of the opening track, only Right Action was deemed fit to be the title. Perhaps Franz Ferdinand thought that it sounded stronger because if a friend asked what you were listening to and you replied back "Right Thoughts" or "Right Words", your friend could become perplexed and wonder if what they were listening to were the right thoughts or right words to listen to. I'm probably just over thinking it, maybe Right Action fits more of a title because it seems cool, and cool is the perfect word to use to describe Right Action and Franz Ferdinand as a whole. Honestly, if I had to describe the sound of the album, or heck, the sound of Franz Ferdinand, I'd say it's dance-punk-alternative-indie-rock-new wave-awesome sauce that's stuck somewhere between the 50's and 70's skipping the 80's for the most part and staying in the 90's and then skipping once more until 2004. Why don't I just call it dance rock from now on? If any song on Right Thoughts Right Words Right Action deserves that impressively long genre title it's... every song on the album. My thoughts while listening to the record were, "How do I classify this" and, "Why am I so confused but yet so amazed?" I could just say that about every song on the album. As for just Right Action, here's what I have to say. This is perfect. Not just a perfect track on the album, the perfect song for just about anything. You know the meme "Guile's theme goes with everything"? I'm sure Right Action could go with just about anything, as long as it's physical. It's such a physical song that it's nigh impossible to not get up and dance to this masterpiece. It's also not too good and doesn't ruin the rest of the album for me by being the opening track the same that Holy Grail was too good for Magna Carta Holy Grail (though to be fair Holy Grail was one of the very few good songs on that album). If this is the sound of a band coming back strong, then I can believe it and I am in awe.
Track 2: Evil Eye
Evil Eye sounds exactly what would be on a soundtrack to an old school horror movie with all of the fake blood and gore and over-the-top death scenes. Needless to say, the music video is beautiful for this. Everything you would expect from a song called Evil Eye which sounds straight from the 60's is present in the music video. Evil Eye is catchy, old school, and with each listen it just keeps getting better.
Track 3: Love Illumination
Love Illumination should be a song that I would hate. The lyrics are repetitive and mostly cliché's, there's very little change throughout, and the whole thing comes off as rushed to me at first. However, I actually rather enjoy Love Illumination. All of the factor's that would make this song normally one of the worst on the album instead add to the song's charm and even though the lyrics are the cheesiest on the album, it's still really hard to not dance along to it. Fun, bold, and catchy, Love Illumination is another gem in Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action.
Track 4: Stand On The Horizon
It should be apparent that Franz Ferdinand couldn't be more different than New Order if they tried. How? New Order almost never have the title of the song in the lyrics, which is the complete opposite of Franz Ferdinand. Stand On The Horizon is no exception (except "stand" isn't in the song). This doesn't make the songs of Franz Ferdinand any less likable, because I can appreciate the band for giving what you want and what you would expect. Stand On The Horizon starts off as what would be a slow moving ballad and then suddenly everything is swept away with even more dance rock. That's how several of the other songs are going to go: start slow and pay off. Stand On The Horizon, like the rest of the album, doesn't disappoint.
Track 5: Fresh Strawberries
Almost like Stand On The Horizon, Fresh Strawberries starts as what would be a slow moving ballad and ends up as more of a ballad for dance-rock if that's possible. Comparing love to fruit is definitely not uncommon in music, but stating that you will inevitability rot away to obscurity is pretty deep. Perhaps the theme here is that one day we will all be forgotten and as such we need to make everything matter in our lives or else we will have nothing to be remembered by. Pretty deep Franz Ferdinand, I find this to be one of the more surprising tracks on the album.
Track 6: Bullet
Ah, what a fitting title. For a band who's not unfamiliar with pump-up rock songs, bullet fits with anything Franz Ferdinand has done in their repertoire perfectly. When Alex Kapranos sings that he'll never get the person in question's "bullet" out of his mind, I feel the same way. This however is not an actual bullet, but instead that in my mind bullet is Franz Ferdinand and how catchy their music can be. Such a fun song from such a fun band.
Track 7: Treason! Animals.
Well isn't that a song title. Well to be honest, I have no idea what it's supposed to mean. The only thing I can get from this is that Alex Kapranos is shouting that he's the king of the animals and that perhaps he's trying to prosecute someone for treason and wants the other animals to be on his side... I've got nothing. There's too much going on here for me to make sense. For a band like Franz Ferdinand who's best qualities aren't always their lyrics, perhaps I'm missing something here. Anyway, the instrumentation is what truly shines here and is carried all the way to the end which I approve of.
Track 8: The Universe Expanded
Here's where I think Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action changes completely. For most of the rest of the album, the songs take an unpredictable space-themed change. This is more apparent in The Universe Expanded as you can tell from the title that this will probably be other-worldly. What I feel could be a metaphor for searching for others after a break-up seems to be muffled with too much longing over the past. The Universe Expanded isn't a bad song, but it's probably the weakest song on the album, and seems like there could be so much more to it.
Track 9: Brief Encounters
Carrying on with the space-theme from The Universe Expanded, Brief Encounters gives us an even-more other-worldly sounding song. There's not too much more that I can explain from The Universe Expanded, however, between the two I much prefer Brief Encounters. It seems that here is where Franz Ferdinand focused more on creating a space-themed track and it shows. The instrumentation is done well here (as always) as well and the lyrics are more relatable this time to not just aliens but relationships too.
Track 10: Goodbye Lovers & Friends
Gee, I hope that this isn't the goodbye of Franz Ferdinand. What I do think is that this song is more of a person feeling paranoid and needing to leave constantly for fear that everyone will get him. But, it's hard to feel to the character portrayed, as he's so picky of daily life. Goodbye Lovers & Friends is a fitting end to a great album and really makes you think.
They may not be back in their hay-day with their debut album and "Take Me Out", but Franz Ferdinand knows just how to stay fresh and keep making great music. I will surely continue to be perplexed and amazed by their music for years to come and Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action is a fitting comeback from 4 years of waiting. Everything I love about Franz Ferdinand is present here. The band is so catchy and so fun that it's hard to believe how anyone couldn't enjoy themselves as much as possible while listening to them. Here's to the future, Franz Ferdinand.
Verdict: Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action is dance-rock to its fullest and with every listen I like it even more. Franz Ferdinand shines in what they do best and they bring all that they can offer in regards to musicianship on their newest album in 4 years. Final Score: 9/10.
No comments:
Post a Comment