In 2004, Franz Ferdinand smashed down the obstinate walls of popular charts for many indie bands to follow with the mind staining riff that crystallised their debut hit single ‘Take Me Out.” Whilst their subsequent self-titled album became a worldwide phenomenon, they struggled to maintain their snowballing momentum with “You Could Have It So Much Better” the following year in 2005.
Four years later, with the release of their third album “Tonight: Franz Ferdinand” the post-punk-glam-white-funk Scotsmen, led by front man Alex Kapranos have adopted new themes and sounds to suggest the four-year wait was worth the while.
Perhaps this is consequence to a bout of studio stimulation by Hot Chip producer Dan Carey, who has facilitated the induction of both afrobeat ‘Vampire Weekend-esc’ reverberation (featuring most clearly on “Send Him Away”) and electro-pop. This is best crystallised in the epic “Lucid Dreams,” a seven minute journey from ‘Franz style’ guitar chord, chorus oriented pop (remnant of past single “Walk Away”) to a disappointing ‘Hot Chip-esc’ techno-synth let down.
Whilst they may have missed the mark on that one, hit single and album opener “Ulysses” screams “Take Me Out” as it so clearly reminds us how and why we fell so head over heels for this charismatic foursome five years ago. With a voice that stares you down with an arrogant sparkle in its eye, Kapranos makes you’re bones dance and sing inside you, as you think to yourself; “fuck these guys are cool.” There is little doubt the influence of Carey’s disco synth has enlightened the boys with the competitive edge missing in their second album “You Could Have It So Much Better.”
The album’s second and third tracks “Turn It On” and “No You Girls” although relatively conservative pop entities for the album sends us a pivotal reminder that Franz Ferdinand have, over the past five years developed a distinct sound and chorus focus that will continue to resonate their tunes for as long as they continue to produce music.
The soul-funk synth screaming “What She Came For” delineates a distinct step in the right direction for the band as the amalgamation of Kapranos’ vocal and lyrical finger pointing would make even the most ardent critics jump up and dance.
“Tonight: Franz Ferdinand” at times strays too far from their roots and perhaps boasts ‘too much’ diversity for one album. There is little doubt that the introduction of afrobeat, and disco-synth has acted as a double-edged sword that has created both the amazing pinnacles and desperate failures that echo every little note of this rollercoaster of an album. I commend the steps taken by the Scottish fab-four to expand their musical horizons and contend that it was worth the four-year wait!
In recent times, Lily Allen has suffered a miscarriage, broken up with her long-time boyfriend from Chemical Brothers, caught half naked a few too many times and put her two cents into everything. Hands down, Lily Allen is one of the mouthiest girls to have come out of the UK in a while now, and her new album certainly lives up to that tag. Everyone should know this - Lily Allen is still as ballzy as ever.
From the beginning you can see how Allen is more than happy to say whatever she wants and not caring if it might offend anyone. 'Everyone's At It' is a clear statement that everyone from both rags to riches are munching on something illicit. 'The Fear' launches into an attack on the messed up state of the world today. The fun, toe tapping hillbilly song 'Not Fair' seems like a dig at a possible ex-boyfriend of her, especially when says "i lie here in the wet patch in the middle of the bed, im feeling pretty darn hard done by, i spent ages giving head".
After the first three songs, Lily begins to show glimpses of maturity. '22' explains how partying too hard too early could cost you dearly in life ahead, and 'I Could Say' talks about the saddness of relationships coming to an end. 'Back To The Start' drifts from the lollipop sucking sounds to a more energetic and edgier attitude to the album. However, just when you think Lily is starting to take her music to a new level, she comes back to her old school ways with the lame 'Never Going To Happen'. Summed up with the line from the actual song "how on earth can i be more obvious".
'Fuck You' is probably one of the better songs on the album. This time, Lily decides to have a go yee old ex prez G Dubya. 'Who'd Have Known' disappointingly allows Lily to turn the volume notch on the album down to a melancholic, boring level. On 'Chinese', Lily once again talks about relationships, which by now the listener should be bored of listening too. With 'Him', Lily decides to question God and as to whether "he's skint, or financially secure?" or "ever taken smack or cocaine>?". Somehow Lily Allen thinks that God's "favourite band is 'Creedance Clearwater Revival". We don't how she got that. For the final song "He Wasn't There", it sounds like you're listening to Lily on a vinyl. The crackle in the background, coupled with the piano, actually makes it feel like Lily's performing in a little jazz bar in the 1930's. It's actually nice and freshing, but just a little too late.
So, overall, this album is nice. That's probably it. It definitely has its great moments, but there's also a lot of dull moments. The kids at Music Universe love Lily because she's cute, provocative and beddable, and that's exactly what 'It's Not You, It's Me' is.
Based on how quickly tickets for Bloc Party’s two Melbourne concerts were snapped up, the band’s popularity has clearly grown since 2005’s debut 'Silent Alarm'. One might be tempted to suggest that this newfound popularity is largely the result of their more hook-oriented second album, 'A Weekend In The City', than the relatively abrasive and disjointed 'Intimacy', which the band are currently promoting. Still, the mix of indie kids and miscellaneous chancers looking for kicks after work, came to enjoy themselves. It seemed that not even the band’s recent fondness for tuneless pseudo-dance numbers could deter them from having a good night out. Despite being true to the variety of the band’s back catalogue, the chosen set list veered awkwardly between the propulsive ('Hunting For Witches', 'Helicopter'), the mid-tempo ('Ion Square', 'Sunday') and the aforementioned ‘dancier’ tracks, making it difficult for any sort of momentum to be generated. Not helping matters was a sound (typical of festival hall) that blunted the band’s attack, muddying what should have been show-stoppers. Disappointingly 'Banquet' came and went without leaving any real impact.
So, it was left to 'Silent Alarm' standouts 'So Here We Are' and 'This Modern Love' to restore faith in proceedings. Elegantly written and performed sublimely, they invited mass sing-alongs from those near the front of the stage, whilst providing brief moments of respite for those in the stands. We left the concert knowing it was a good start to the beginning of yet another gloomy weekend in the city.
