CD Reviews

Review: Franz Ferdinand's Tonight: Franz Ferdinand

Domino (2009)

By ZETH LUNDY | January 27, 2009

3.0 Stars

On their third full-length, Franz Ferdinand continue to kick out that post-punk/disco thrust that made past singles "Take Me Out" and "Do You Want To" such loosened-skinny-tie pleasures.

But one listen to the eight-minute "Lucid Dreams," which disintegrates into electronic pulses and ambient shadows at its halfway mark, makes it clear that Tonight: Franz Ferdinand is more than a rehash of that stiff-armed methodology. Here the band, with producer Dan Carey (Hot Chip, CSS) at their side, dip their big toe into electro-pop, Afrobeat (sorta), new-wave seizures, and all manner of groove that bespeak body-rockin' pleasures.

In the feverish "Turn It On," Alex Kapranos sounds as if he were leading a riled mob to the club. And the shit-hot single "Ulysses," empathizing with its title character, documents a disorienting journey into the heart of rhythm. This music, a monomaniacal pursuit of movement, puts that feeling ably into its sway.

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