Review Summary: Franz Ferdinand are back. Again.
“It's always better on holiday.”
So sang Alex Kapranos on 'Jacqueline', the opening track of Franz Ferdinand's eponymous debut album. Considering the glacial pace at which the Glaswegian dance-rockers are releasing music these days, the line now rings a touch ironic. After hammering out their first two albums in just as many years, the quartet seem to have spent much of the time since putting up their feet and down their guitars. Which is more than a little frustrating. Less smug than Arctic Monkeys and more consistent than The Strokes, they remain kings (or should I say archdukes?) of the post-punk revival. Those guitars ought to be squriting out infectious riffs, those feet bounding up and down on stage. Or better yet, being tapped metronomically in a studio. It's been a bitter, interminable wait for the fourth Franz Ferdinand album. But at long last, it's here.
So, Franz Ferdinand are back after a four year absence. Again. The brevity of their new and fourth album, Right Thoughts/Right Words/Right Action, can't help but disappoint. In all the time they've had since the darker, dancier (and hugely underrated) Tonight in 2009, they've only come back to us with 35 minutes of new music. If the interim was divided equally, that would mean they spent 48 days on each minute of Right Thoughts. Pretty slack, fellas.
Thankfully, once 'play' has been hit, they waste no time in getting those guitars and those feet back into action. Stomping opener “Right Action” is an addictive blast of indie rock, and easily one of the band's best tracks to date. Anchored by squirming Talking Heads-style riffs and soaring upon brief, frequent choruses, it has as much pizzazz and flair as any of their monster hits (“Take Me Out”, “Do You Want To”, “No You Girls”). I'm not kidding about the David Byrne influence either; save for the ludicrously imitative “Tell Her Tonight”, its the biggest Talking Heads homage they've ever paid. But dang do they channel the influence well.
About half of Right Thoughts is in the same punchy, immediate vein of “Right Action”, such as the breakneck “Bullet” and the revved-up “Love Illumination.” Let's call these tracks 'classic Franz.' The other half is quieter and weirder, rippling with a dark pop aesthetic akin to the work of Syd Barrett. These tracks, such as the starry-eyed “The Universe Expanded”, can be called 'Franz in Wonderland.' While I can't say these trips to Wonderland are as memorable as the classic Franz moments, they conjure a peculiar and charming mood, and are peppered with instances of real loveliness. See when the lovesick disco of “Stand On The Horizon” descends into the band chanting “the North Sea sings, won't you come to me baby?” like monks in a lilac blur. The whole song builds towards this coda, yet it still manages to come out of nowhere.
My expectations were fairly high after such a grueling wait, and I can happily affirm that Right Thoughts/Right Words/Right Action more or less met them. Featuring a healthy mix of old and new, poppy and strange, it is another solid (if concise) addition to Franz Ferdinand's discography. Hopefully the wait for album five isn't quite so long. I'll be humming “Bullet” and yelling the “red, ya bastard!” line from “Evil Eye” until then.
