Sometimes, it is so hard to get anything done in the winter. It's cold, it's dark, and I find myself craving fatty foods, fantasizing about sleep and hiding in my dorm more and more.
Imagine my surprise then when, sitting on the couch trying to find the motivation to actually do work, I came across Franz Ferdinand's new album on Imeem. It was like the clouds opened up and a beam of indie-post-punk shone through the winter gloom.
There is something...different about this album. It sounds a little dark, a little bitter; like the bite at the end of your drink. It's a little less dance floor and a little more anguished poet; it is less plastic, less surface...and yet, it still sounds like Franz Ferdinand; still fun, danceable and irreverent.
There is even a ballad of sorts. "Katherine Kiss Me" is a little strange, but sort of sweet, with the lyrical 'slips of the tongue' that show the nervousness and awkwardness that come with the conflict of wanting to say what we feel and being afraid to. The song has no shortage of dark, even ugly images and themes, but has an honesty and realness that is so uncommon in love songs.
I must confess that I am writing this as I am listening to the album for the sake of time (I know, sigh) so this is not a conventional album review. Since I have not done my traditional distraction-free listen or researched or listened to my favorite songs so much that they start to creep into my consciousness at random times, this is going to be a little more reaction and a little less analysis. Which is possibly as it should be.
The New York Times recently did a feature on the album which describes it much more elegantly than I:
The Times article
And lucky you, I'll even share. Here you go (clips):
Tonight - Franz Ferdinand
Favorite tracks (at the moment):
"Ulysses," "Katherine Kiss Me," "Twilight Omens"
