Five years of waiting for these fabulous Scots and here it is…Tonight: Franz Ferdinand.

The first time I put this album on I literally jumped out of my seat. The first track “Ulysses” struck as sheer Ferdinand brilliance. They are often accused of having every song sound the same and I was sure that this was it! This was their breakthrough!
And then I was thoroughly disappointed.

The mixture of rock and dance beats on “Ulysses” was fluid and Alex Kapranos’ horse, sexy voice suggesting me to get high was so unlike Franz Ferdinand’s self-titled debut album. I was ready for this new Franz Ferdinand and then they fell slightly flat.

The second track “Turn it On” sounded like the good old Franz Ferdinand that we know and love but with a few extra quirky electronic sounds. I guess the 1980’s are coming back into style and bands are starting to add dance beats to rock again.

“No You Girls” is definitely the “Do You Want To” of this album because it is extremely catchy with repeating lyrics and clapping in the background of the chorus. Don’t get me wrong, this song is still great, it catches you right away with a strong bass line and high-pitched guitars leading into sexy lyrics: “Ohh kiss me/lick your cigarette then kiss me.” Overall the Ferdinand muddy guitar riffs are great in this song. The rest of the album is unsatisfactory though. It just all sounds the same and there is nothing else that really stood out again. How can an album have such excellent tracks and have the others just flop completely?

Wait. I lied. There was one other track that intrigued me: “Lucid Dreams.” It was like Franz Ferdinand took Making Music Like The Faint 101 and this was their homework. It has really great potential but it also has all of the bad qualities of a techno song. It drags on too long and the poor production quality of the electronic sounds ends up being distracting instead of invigorating. I am still torn about whether I like this song or not. It is very innovative for Franz Ferdinand, and it is definitely apparent that they are trying to expand their horizons, but if you are going to make a dance album you have to make sure the techno beats are superb, otherwise the audience that would be in love with this song or album end up hating it.

I personally may have expected too much from this talented band. Overall, this is still a good album to own, especially to put on during a party because it is definitely a fun album and designed to be danced to.

Rating: 3 out of 5 dragons