Latest Review - Tonight: Franz Ferdinand

Franz Ferdinand
Tonight: Franz Ferdinand
Genre: Art Rock
Highlight: Lucid Dreams

IMPROVING on an icon is never an easy job.

Just ask Franz Ferdinand, whose latest record Tonight: Franz Ferdinand, went on sale earlier this month and follows in the footsteps of one of the most hummed tunes released this decade. Take Me Out - and the eponymous debut album it came from - has quietly earned its stripes as an indie anthem, so following it on with just about anything would have been impossible.

So rather than stray into the trademark sound which so obviously dominated 2003's Franz Ferdinand, the Glaswegian art rockers have decided variety is the spice of life for their third album, and have gone for a dizzying rush of different styles and influences throughout the twelve tracks.

Ulysses, the album's lead single, makes you think the album might have taken on a darker tone than its predecessors, and there's something very Joy Division about its steely sound. It's a promising start, but get past this and it's clear that Tonight isn't going to be as guitar-twangingly memorable as their older songs.

There seems to be an eternity of fairly ho-hum indie efforts throughout the first half of the album, and you begin to wonder whether ditching the studio sessions with Girls Aloud producers Xenomania was really such a good idea. It's far more diverse than second album You Could Have It So Much Better, but anthems seem conspicuous by their absence.

Luckily the best tracks are the later ones, with Live Alone and Can't Stop Feeling sounding very party-friendly. Yet the highlight really is Lucid Dreams, which improves massively on the single version released last year with an epic acid instrumental.

Tonight is a massive departure from Franz's usual fare. Great in parts, but iconic it isn't.

Album provided by Tesco, Llandudno Junction