On the Shelf 197: Franz Ferdinand
Jun. 3rd, 2018 10:56 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bedsitter23Franz Ferdinand will always be cursed for being too much too soon. Their debut album put them right on the Grammies and threw them in the conversation with their idols as being the saviors of rock n roll.
Having peaked so early, the indie press seems to be done with them. Yet, stubbornly, FF persists.
The debut has been hailed a modern day classic, but for my ears, the second album You Could Have it So much Better is where everything gels. Tonight is as strong as their two predecessors, but at the time seemed a bit radical - a move to new wave dance. In retrospect, it's a strong album and "No You Girls" is an evergreen alt-rock hit.
Franz Ferdinand never has made a bad album. Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action is actually a pretty solid record. It lacks a solid single which hurts it, and that it follows the path of Tonight, a lot of ears are tuned out instead looking for the next big thing.
Always Ascending may not change that. Some critics hail it as a return to form. Indeed, moments like"Glimpse of Love" and "Lazy Boy" feel like they could have been in an early FF set. Still, the beat never goes.
The album again suffers from not having a defining single. The title track and Lazy Boy nearly manage, and "Slow Don't Kill Me Slow" sounds like a great undiscovered Pulp song.
So how do I rate it. It's a pretty great listen for fans of the band on its own merit. That's undeniable. Critics will likely skip it, but some did show it love. It will likely still not enough to escape the great shadow of the band's early songs. When you think of hypothetical Greatest Hits packages, where do the songs on here rate?
Still, I will take it. You still can't write them off.
Having peaked so early, the indie press seems to be done with them. Yet, stubbornly, FF persists.
The debut has been hailed a modern day classic, but for my ears, the second album You Could Have it So much Better is where everything gels. Tonight is as strong as their two predecessors, but at the time seemed a bit radical - a move to new wave dance. In retrospect, it's a strong album and "No You Girls" is an evergreen alt-rock hit.
Franz Ferdinand never has made a bad album. Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action is actually a pretty solid record. It lacks a solid single which hurts it, and that it follows the path of Tonight, a lot of ears are tuned out instead looking for the next big thing.
Always Ascending may not change that. Some critics hail it as a return to form. Indeed, moments like"Glimpse of Love" and "Lazy Boy" feel like they could have been in an early FF set. Still, the beat never goes.
The album again suffers from not having a defining single. The title track and Lazy Boy nearly manage, and "Slow Don't Kill Me Slow" sounds like a great undiscovered Pulp song.
So how do I rate it. It's a pretty great listen for fans of the band on its own merit. That's undeniable. Critics will likely skip it, but some did show it love. It will likely still not enough to escape the great shadow of the band's early songs. When you think of hypothetical Greatest Hits packages, where do the songs on here rate?
Still, I will take it. You still can't write them off.
