Franz Ferdinand - Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action (Album Review)
Tuesday, 27 August 2013
Written by Gavin Rees
“Almost everything could be forgotten,” Alex Kapranos sings on Right Action, the lead single and opening track of Franz Ferdinand's 'Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action'. Almost everything doesn't seem to include the ability to write addictive, post-punk-infused pop songs though.
It's been four years since the band released the lacklustre 'Tonight: Franz Ferdinand', a period of time that has been spent giving space to strained relationships and rebuilding a few bridges that were in danger of collapsing. Needless to say, they sound all the better for the time away.
'Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action' is a short, sharp shot of everything that made Franz Ferdinand so appealing when their debut landed almost 10 years ago. It's maddeningly catchy, witty and delivered with all the knowing charm that Kapranos can muster.
Right Action is one of a number of notable high points in the record's first half, with Stand On The Horizon, Fresh Strawberries and Love Illumination all nestled alongside Evil Eye, which might just be the best song Franz Ferdinand have put their name to.
Its '50ssci-fi backing keys and Ghost Town-esque atmosphere work brilliantly, with Kapranos on devilish form with the lyric, “don't believe in God, don't believe in this shit.”
Throughout there's an air of resignation, a feeling that things just might be on the turn. On Treason! Animals, Kapranos tells us that, “something has really, really gone wrong here.” A few songs later, as the record gutters out with Goodbye Lovers And Friends, he proclaims that he “don't play pop music, you know I hate pop music.”
Comeback records can be unbearable, at turns both smug and lazy, but 'Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action' is neither of those things. Franz Ferdinand are back, and for that we should all be glad.
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