Blood - Franz Ferdinand

Franz Ferdinand released two albums six months into 2009, pretty productive you say. Hearing Blood, their sophomore effort of the year, even if it's simply a dub remix of their first album Tonight, won't alter ideas about their productivity or talent. Blood is a smashing album throbbing with electronic beats, thrumming electric guitars, and scintillating synthesizers all creating havoc on the dance floor.

The album's co-producer Dan Carey and Franz decided to conduct a dub experiment with the tracks on Tonight. And thus, Blood came into being. A rework of the albums on Tonight, Blood also contains a bonus ninth track called "Be Afraid". Tonight was reported to have been inspired by the “heavy dub sound of Jamaican reggae stars” and Kapranos commented on the “heavy bass and space echo” in the album. Blood seems to be Tonight 2.0. The songs have been crushed and cranked and twisted, infused with cutting edge beats, and whipped into a lean mean shape - so much so that they get new names. "Feel The Pressure" is one of the best songs on the album - throbbing with a live energy made for the dance floor. "Be Afraid" is a slow song with a somnolent bass line lit up by electro hooks and repetitive vocals.

"Katherine Hit Me", a dub version of “No You Girls” from Tonight is an addictive dance number with glass clinks, and soaring electric pulses. The original almost sounds funny with its come-hither -“Kiss Me” after the rollicking echo pedals of the dub version. "If I Can't Have You Then Nobody Can" is another dub heavy version with reverb, and I dare say, a more addictive hook than the popular "Katherine". Producer Dan Carey and bassistt Bob Hardy strip most of the tracks to create fuzzy electrical jamborees. Not all of the output is fun, or as addictive - but it’s a refreshing break for the band. Franz could carve out a neat new niche with their brand of slapdash-yet-in-command electronica with Alex Kapranos drawling confident vocals.

Blood reminds that Franz is not willing to settle cosy in any musical slot by demonstrating their talented grasp of electronica. One is almost willing to trade in the seedy matinee (You Could Have It So Much Better, 2005) and embrace the sexy shiny disco floor of Blood.

Track Listing:

1. "Feel the Pressure" ("What She Came For" dub version)
2. "Die on the Floor" ("Can't Stop Feeling" dub version)
3. "The Vaguest of Feeling" ("Live Alone" dub version).
4. "If I Can't Have You Then Nobody Can" ("Turn It On" dub version)
5. "Katherine Hit Me" ("No You Girls" dub version)
6. "Backwards on My Face" ("Twilight Omens" dub version)
7. "Feeling Kind of Anxious" ("Ulysses" dub version)
8. "Feel the Envy" ("Send Him Away" dub version)
9. "Be Afraid" ("Dream Again" dub version)

Franz Ferdinand - Be Afraid