“Working on a Dream”
Bruce Springsteen
WHY CARE: The Boss releases his 24th album Tuesday, before playing the Super Bowl XLIII Halftime Show on Sunday.
TRIVIA: Guitarist Steven Van Zandt told Esquire the Super Bowl organizers have asked the group to play for 25 years. “You want to save some things,” he said.
STANDOUTS: The upbeat track “My Lucky Day” feels like it was pressed out of a Springsteen song template: Clattery snare drums, organ squeaks, a flare of saxophone. If it were a little less optimistic, it would have fit in well on “Born in the U.S.A.”
FANS DIG: Jersey
ANDY SAYS: Springsteen’s new album starts strong, with an often sunny mix of radio-ready rock. But the driving force slowly begins to sputter. Choruses sometimes feel generic — you’ve seen the album title, right? — and songs such as “Life Itself” carry little musical heft.
GRADE: C-plus
“Tonight: Franz Ferdinand”
Franz Ferdinand
WHY CARE: The Glasgow group, known for its huge 2004 hit “Take Me Out,” starts toying with more synthesizers on its third album.
TRIVIA: Lead singer Alex Kapranos used to be a chef. He wrote a 2006 culinary memoir, “Sound Bites: Eating on Tour with Franz Ferdinand.”
STANDOUTS: Kapranos practically spits out words on “What She Came For,” which kicks into an allegro tempo during a scorching 37-second guitar outro.
FANS DIG: Thin ties, tight suits
ANDY SAYS: Franz Ferdinand keeps its villainous swagger in place for about half of “Tonight.” From “Bite Hard” to “Lucid Dreams,” the group fires on all cylinders. This isn’t a five-track EP, though. It’s a 12-track album, and as an album, it’s padded with a few lackluster tracks that fall short of the group’s earlier output.
GRADE: B
Andy Rathbun
arathbun@heraldnet.com
425-339-3455
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