Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action

Franz Ferdinand - Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action
Critic Score
Based on 44 reviews
2013 Ratings: #415 / 1115
User Score
Based on 364 ratings
2013 Rank: #325
Liked by 35 people
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CRITIC REVIEWS

83
Entertainment Weekly
The Glaswegian dandies’ fourth album reenergizes their hooky, too-clever brand of new wave while upping that louche energy; you won’t know if you want to bed them or slap them, so you’ll probably do both.
83
A.V. Club

By expanding its worldview, Franz Ferdinand has very nicely settled onto a path toward career longevity.

83
Pretty Much Amazing

Basically, Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action is their debut re-imagined for the next decade – gushing with characteristic lurching tempo changes, scream-along choruses and glossy hooks.

80
The 405

Now, refreshed and invigorated, they return to their gruff, pristine art-rock sexiness. It's not the exact same style as they sauntered into our lives with, they've grown and matured, but it's the natural progression we'd hoped for eight years ago.

80
Clash

it’s evident enough that Franz Ferdinand are masters at crafting stylish, guitar-driven anthems. ‘Right Thoughts…’ affirms this expertise, and is a very danceable fourth LP.

80
Slant Magazine

Franz Ferdinand's Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action is an unapologetically swaggering disco-rock album that refuses to overstay its welcome.

80
Time Out London
The indie heroes get weird on a twisted and fiercely intelligent fourth album.
80
Exclaim!
This is a return to form for Franz Ferdinand; they've indeed retrieved the right thoughts and words to create a dynamic new set of pop hits in-the-making.
80
The Skinny
The Glasgow quartet still mix the staccato energy of punk with highly calibrated pop ballads.
80
Mojo
There's no great leap forward here but the spring in their step is unmistakable.
80
DIY

It’s Frankenstein on the dance floor of a Transylvanian indie disco. It’s art pop after dark. It’s, at least on the surface, exactly what’s expected of them.

80
The Observer

It's only later that you realise Franz Ferdinand's fourth isn't just a return to form but a tuneful meditation on death, decay and the void.

80
SPIN

By embracing divergent collaborators but limiting themselves to 10 tracks and 35 minutes, the boys counter their only fault: sameness. 

80
NME

Mostly though, ‘Right Thoughts…’ hinges on embracing what Franz do well and aiming to do it better. But it’s not all about looking back.

80
AllMusic

Right Thoughts Right Words Right Action is a welcome return, fusing a crowd-pleasing sound with some of Franz Ferdinand's most interesting songwriting. Track for track, it may very well be the group's most satisfying album yet.

80
Louder Than War
Though this record showcases a band not averse to experimentation, the usual Franz fetishes of post-punk and garage rock are still ever prevalent – but with British music now seemingly saturated by a weath of painfully earnest shoegaze, this is almost something of a novelty from a mainstream British guitar act.
80
musicOMH

Franz Ferdinand have done what they didn’t quite manage on Tonight, combining their more experimental leanings with their irresistible dance-punk sound to create right thoughts, right words, right action, right album.

80
Q Magazine
It's an album that more than makes up for Franz Ferdinand's extended absence.
80
Evening Standard
Their fourth album comes out all singing and dancing with the rubbery funk of the single, Right Action, the horror theme jerkiness of Evil Eye and a growling, energetic rock song named Love Illumination.
75
Spectrum Culture

Right Thoughts… proves that reboots can sometimes trump reinvention, especially when it comes to otherwise messing with a good thing.

75
The Line of Best Fit

There’s nothing esoteric or markedly divergent here. It sounds precisely like what it is: a very straightforward Franz Ferdinand record.

73
Paste

Maturity is present here. But the best thing about Franz Ferdinand is the group’s perpetual youthfulness and vibrancy. They may fumble here and there, but, for the most part, their latest really does get it right.

70
Rolling Stone
They return sounding hungry for blood, with all their twin-guitar glam-punk strut.
70
God Is in the TV

Four albums in, Right Thoughts would be best summed up as a career snapshot. It’s the sort of record fans may well hold in high record in years to come. And whilst there are still flaws to be traced, it’s a marked improvement on Tonight.

70
Uncut
Producers Todd Terje and Bjorn Yttling help effect a subtle but distinct shift, without sacrificing FF's Identity.
70
Drowned in Sound

It’s a satisfyingly snack-sized 35 minutes of pop bangers that doesn’t drop the ball once and never overstays its welcome.

70
FasterLouder

A decade from now, a listener might hear Right Thoughts and wonder why it was ignored. Alternatively, they might not understand why Franz Ferdinand ever mattered at all. Context is everything in pop music, and though Franz Ferdinand have made a fine album, it’s hard not to feel like their time has passed.

70
Consequence of Sound

It’s a tap on the shoulder, a reminder, or a nostalgic look back that this collective works best at providing kitschy, alternative dance anthems for millennials hellbent on shaking it to something more organic.

70
Sputnikmusic
It’s an album surprisingly even in its delivery, if a little underwhelming in content, somewhat reserved and unquestionably safe.
65
Under the Radar

Ultimately Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action is the work of a band too settled in their ways and perhaps nervous of straying too far from what they know to ever truly be loved. 

60
NOW Magazine
RTRWRA neatly combines those familiar chantable choruses, punchy guitars, pleasant harmonies and simple, clever lyricism – all in all, a great vehicle for that smooth, too cool croon of singer Alex Kapranos.
60
The Fly

While there are individual moments that are up there with the band’s best, ‘Right Thoughts…’ falls short of the return to form the opening tracks suggest.

60
The Independent

In a year already host to some brilliant albums, it seems tired and dated.

60
Northern Transmissions

The Scottish quartet have returned with their fourth LP, Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Actions and like any band that have been out of the limelight for sometime coaxing themselves back into the game Franz have gone straight for the whipcracking approach with a record that is short, sharp and swift.

60
Alternative Press

Their fourth album, Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action is just as resolute as the title.

60
The Arts Desk
Droll Scots return to tried and tested formula on fourth album.
60
Record Collector

Largely, Right Thoughts is business as usual--a steady, reliable and often invigorating business, but one that constantly, frustratingly hints that it’s capable of more.

60
PopMatters

A solid if uneven combination of tight, compact punkish rompers and meandering light rock offerings. 

60
Tiny Mix Tapes
Even ignoring the tectonic shifts in music over the past decade, this is by no means a novel or inventive album.
60
The Irish Times

Alex Kapranos, Nick McCarthy, Bob Hardy and Paul Thompson hope to re-ignite Franz frenzy with an album that freewheels confidently from early '80s mutant disco to 1960s garage and back again.

54
Pitchfork

While Right Words achieves a baseline level of quality or at least competency with the exception of “Goodbye Friends and Lovers” and "Love Illumination", they lack the conviction to take most of their lesser ideas to the realm of being unpleasant rather than kinda boring. 

52
Beats Per Minute

The experimental mindset is evident in moments of Right Thoughts, but only a select few, and like Tonight, it’s most prominent on the last few tracks.

ST4T1C
80

A slight return to form for Franz, but for the most part a pretty standard album from the band. Sure, the punch of the first few albums weren’t really there, but for the most part a few of these tracks come pretty close nonetheless. Tracks like “Evil Eye” and “Brief Encounters” are pretty great indie rock songs with pretty good grooves and riffs. The last few tracks were pretty decent too, although some were kinda boring tbh. Idk, this album just feels like a more ... read more

Tbrauer7
80

The 4th album from Franz Ferdinand is another good one. It has the hooks, guitar riffs you would expect and catchy choruses. There is nothing new here from previous records and it's less inventive than their last but this is still a collection of quality songs. The first half in particular features great catchy tracks.

Fav Songs - Evil Eye, Love Illumination, Stand on the Horizon

Plats
78

"Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action" doesn't live up to their previous outings, but it's still a fun record with catchy lyrics and wonderful production.

Fav Tracks: Love Illumination, Right Action, Bullet, Evil Eye, Treason! Animals., Fresh Strawberries

Least Fav Track: Brief Encounters

Score:
7.8
Very Good

willbeeb
72

Franz Ferdinand

Tbrauer7
80

The 4th album from Franz Ferdinand is another good one. It has the hooks, guitar riffs you would expect and catchy choruses. There is nothing new here from previous records and it's less inventive than their last but this is still a collection of quality songs. The first half in particular features great catchy tracks.

Fav Songs - Evil Eye, Love Illumination, Stand on the Horizon

metaxia
100

idc this is an underrated masterpiece and i stand by that

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Added on: May 16, 2013