New Songs: Of Montreal, The Rosebuds, Franz Ferdinand

August 12, 2008

I’m taking a break from Lollapalooza coverage today to talk about some of the new songs that have been popping up all over the place recently from some of my favorite artists.  First one is something that’s already made the rounds a few times, the single from Of Montreal’s highly anticipated album, Skeletal Lamping, but I thought I’d throw my two cents in.

MP3 Of Montreal – Id Engager

I heard a number of negative reactions to this song even before I heard it, but after hearing the song myself I’m crediting that to the Of Montreal backlash that seems so popular these days.  I think the song’s really good, and is getting me extremely excited for the new album.  True, it’s no “Heimdalsgate” or “Rejector” but out of the funky, disco-like tracks that the band has done it’s probably my favorite.  I’m actually a fan of all the random weirdness throughout (e.g. the “Ninjas! Prove It! Right!” bridge) the track, and like many of the band’s songs, this one will get stuck in your head for a long time.

MP3 The Rosebuds – Life Like

The Rosebuds just recently announced that they had a new record coming out, and they’ve already released a single, which shares a title with the album.  I had heard that this album would be bringing the band closer to Birds Make Good Neighbors territory, which is great news for me since it’s easily my favorite album from the band (nothing against Night of the Furies).  From this song, it looks like the band is definitely shifting back to a more acoustic sound, while still keeping a lot of the ominous, sinister mood from Furies.  It almost reminds me of a darker-sounding “Hold Hands and Fight”.

MP3 Franz Ferdinand – Lucid Dreams

The Scots of Franz Ferdinand have had three years to put together their new album and everything that I’ve seen points to this being a big improvement over 2005′s You Could Do So Much Better (which I actually didn’t think was that bad).  Word on the street is that “Lucid Dreams” is just a teaser and not a true first single for the album.  After I got over the hissing/crackling sound (an intentional effect by the band) I really started to enjoy the song.  It sounds just about exactly what you’d expect from the band (dancey guitars, multi-part harmonies, super infectious chorus), so unless you really can’t stand FF’s sound, you’ll probably like this one.

Posted by Taylor in Track Review