Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action

Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action
Studio album by Franz Ferdinand
Released	26 August 2013
Recorded	2013
Studio	Various[1] Sausage Studios (London, England) Black Pudding Studio (Glasgow, Scotland) Ingrid Studio (Stockholm, Sweden) Club Ralph (London, England)
Genre	Indie rock[2] dance-punk[3] disco-rock[4]
Length	35:04 (standard edition) 82:12 (deluxe edition)
Label	Domino
Producer	Joe Goddard Alex Kapranos[lower-alpha 1] Alexis Taylor Todd Terje Björn Yttling
Franz Ferdinand chronology
Live E.P. (2013) Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action (2013) Evil Action (2013)
Franz Ferdinand studio albums chronology
Tonight: Franz Ferdinand (2009) Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action (2013) FFS (2015)
Singles from Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action
"Right Action" Released: 27 June 2013 (2013-06-27) "Love Illumination" Released: 27 June 2013 (2013-06-27) "Evil Eye" Released: 28 October 2013 (2013-10-28) "Bullet" Released: 20 January 2014 (2014-01-20) "Fresh Strawberries" Released: 7 April 2014 (2014-04-07) "Stand on the Horizon" Released: 28 July 2014 (2014-07-28)

Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action is the fourth studio album by Glaswegian indie rock band Franz Ferdinand, released through Domino Records on 26 August 2013 in the UK^[6] and on 27 August 2013 in the US. It is the band's first studio album since Tonight: Franz Ferdinand, which was released four years earlier in 2009. The album was recorded during 2013 at Black Pudding Studio in Glasgow, Sausage Studios in London, Ingrid Studio in Stockholm, and Club Ralph in London.^[1] It received generally favourable reviews from music critics upon its release.^[7] The album debuted at No. 6 in the UK Albums Chart,^[8] No. 1 in the UK Indie Chart,^[9] No. 24 in the US Billboard 200,^[10] and charted in the top 10 in several other countries. The album was produced by band frontman Alex Kapranos,^{[lower-alpha 2]} Alexis Taylor and Joe Goddard, members of English electronic group Hot Chip, Norwegian DJ Todd Terje, and Bjorn Yttling, one-third of Swedish indie rock band Peter Bjorn and John.

The album spawned six singles: "Right Action", "Love Illumination", "Evil Eye", "Bullet", "Fresh Strawberries", and "Stand on the Horizon".

Background and recording

The band previewed many of their new tracks at live performances over 2012 and 2013. The album was recorded during 2013 at Alex Kapranos' Black Pudding Studio in Glasgow, Scotland,^[11] Nick McCarthy's Sausage Studios in London, England,^[6] Björn Yttling's Ingrid Studio in Stockholm, Sweden,^[1] and Mark Ralph's Club Ralph in London.^[1] Kapranos described the album direction as "forward" and revealed that the band decided to keep a low profile about things as their last album was "tainted" by misinformation prior to its release.^[12] Kapranos said that the album deals with "the idea of the cynic's search for optimism and the sceptic's search for a manual crop up here and there. I've always liked the lead character in Alasdair Gray's Lanark growing the hard scales to defend the soft inner-self from the world. Socially awkward asthmatic with a self-consuming imagination. My 19-year-old self was electrified. Maybe the album is about how to shed those scales."^[6]

Title

Kapranos had talked about the background of the album title in a documentary about the album. He stated, "I think when you name a record, you have to choose something which you feel reflects the record or that collection of songs. You also want to choose something that reflects not just the mood of the record, but the mood of the people who made it... the mood of those people when they recorded it, and there were quite a few things that sort of came up as ideas, but Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action seemed to sum it up best. It's probably the most positive record we've made, and the band have been, yeah, the most optimistic we've been since before we had any encounter with the music industry. Probably because we've been sort of keeping a low profile for a while and not talking about ourselves too much."^[11]

Release

The album was announced on 14 May 2013 with a teaser trailer video^[13] along with updates from the band's social networks, revealing the cover art, the album title and the full track listing. On the same day, the album was also made available to pre-order from Domino in various versions.

The band announced on their Twitter account^[14] that the album became available for free streaming on the NPR Music website.^[15] The album is also available to stream on Spotify.^[16]

Formats and packaging

The album is available as a digital download, CD, deluxe double CD, 12" vinyl, and deluxe double 12" vinyl packaged in a hand numbered die-cut gatefold sleeve.^[17] The exclusive bonus disc in both the double CD and double vinyl LP, entitled Right Notes, Right Words, Wrong Order, is a live session recording captured at Konk Studios in London.^[17]

Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Actions - The Passport Edition is a deluxe package limited to 500 copies worldwide and features a deluxe edition of each physical format of the album, all 7" and 12" singles and access to the highest quality audio files possible as well as exclusive tracks and content.^[17]

Promotion

Singles

The first two singles from the album were "Right Action" and "Love Illumination". The official audio tracks for the songs were released on 27 June 2013 onto YouTube. On 18 August 2013, an EP titled Right Action, featuring "Right Action", "Love Illumination" and two live tracks, was released digitally.^[18] To date, "Right Action" has had moderate success, reaching number 39 on the UK Indie Chart, number 28 on the US Alternative music Billboard Chart, and number 22 on the Japanese Singles Chart.

The third single from the album, "Evil Eye", was released on 28 October 2013.^[19] The song received radio airplay on multiple stations, including BBC Radio 2.

The fourth single to promote the album was "Bullet", released on 17 January 2014 in New Zealand,^[20] and on 20 January 2014 in the UK.^[21]

"Fresh Strawberries" was digitally released as the fifth single on 4 April 2014 in Australia and New Zealand,^[22][23] and on 7 April 2014 in the UK.^[24] The single contained a B-side titled "Erdbeer Mund". A 7" vinyl release was scheduled for 7 May 2014.^[25]

The sixth single, "Stand on the Horizon", was released on 28 July 2014.^[26]

Music videos

The "Right Action" official video was released on 7 July 2013, directed by Jonas Odell,^[27] and the video for "Love Illumination" was released on 24 July 2013, directed by Tim Saccenti.^[28] As of 30 August, both videos have received over 1 million YouTube views. The "Evil Eye" official music video was released on 8 September 2013 and was directed by Diane Martel,^[29] who is known for directing videos for various Top 3 hits such as "Blurred Lines", "Just Give Me a Reason", "We Can't Stop", and one of the bands' hit singles, "Do You Want To".^[30] The band released the official video for "Bullet" on 18 November 2013 and was directed by Andy Knowles.^[31] The official music video for "Fresh Strawberries" was released on 12 March 2014 and was directed by Margarita Louca.^[32] The official music video for "Stand on the Horizon" was released on 3 August 2014 and was directed by Karan Kandhari.^[33]

Concerts

On 20 August 2013, the band played at Electric Brixton in London, for a crowd of approximately 1,500 fans. The opening song was "Right Action" and the concert featured several songs of the new album. A concert in Glasgow followed on 21 August 2013.^[34]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	71/100[7]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[35]
Alternative Press	[36]
The A.V. Club	B+[37]
The Independent	[38]
Mojo	[39]
NME	8/10[40]
Pitchfork	5.4/10[41]
Rolling Stone	[42]
Slant Magazine	[4]
Spin	8/10[43]

Early media response to Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action has been generally favorable. According to critic review aggregator Metacritic, the album has received a score of 71/100, based on 39 reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.^[7] At Digital Spy, Adam Silverstein commends that "more often than not, Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action is this band sharpening their particular surefire indie to glittering distinction." Commenting on the band's future, he says that the "half-sorry, half-bitter 'Goodbye Lovers & Friends' is probably not Franz Ferdinand's very last act, even if Kapranos proclaiming in the final seconds "But this really is the end" would make one awesome blowout. Although after delivering a record as good as this, they can take as long as they want". At The A.V. Club, Annie Zaleski wrote, "Admittedly, these more nuanced Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action sounds aren’t as easily accessible; it’s much easier to gravitate toward more familiar raucous post-punk (“Bullet,” “Right Action”) or the Clash-reminiscent punk-funk of “Evil Eye.” But by expanding its worldview, Franz Ferdinand has very nicely settled onto a path toward career longevity."^[37]

Writing for MOJO, Victoria Segal says that "Franz Ferdinand remain in robust good health, athletic aesthetes who have yet to break their stride. There’s no great leap forward here but the spring in their step is unmistakable. All present, all correct." At Alternative Press, Reed Fischer called the title "resolute", and told that "fortunately, his cruelty translates into charming melodies here that almost excuse the long wait for them."^[36] Conversely, Tim Stegall in The Austin Chronicle wrote: "[T]he satisfaction appears sonic alone: Not a song sticks. It's sheer style that carries this disc."^[44] Caleb Caldwell for Slant Magazine wrote, "More or less the Scottish answer to American bands like Interpol and the Strokes, Franz Ferdinand, with their du-jour cool and deft combination of insular art flair and dance-floor populism, was hailed by British hype machine New Musical Express as the dawn of a new rock revolution. The band's blue-blazered appeal, however, started to slip after 2009's overly serious concept album Tonight: Franz Ferdinand. Four years later, the zeitgeist may prefer its rock stars with suspenders and banjos, but Franz Ferdinand's Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action is an unapologetically swaggering disco-rock album that refuses to overstay its welcome."^[4]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Right Action"	Alex Kapranos, Nick McCarthy, Robert Hardy	Joe Goddard, Alexis Taylor	3:01
2.	"Evil Eye"	Kapranos, McCarthy	Kapranos, Todd Terje	2:47
3.	"Love Illumination"	Kapranos, McCarthy	Kapranos	3:44
4.	"Stand on the Horizon"	Kapranos, McCarthy	Kapranos, Terje	4:23
5.	"Fresh Strawberries"	Kapranos, McCarthy	Kapranos	3:21
6.	"Bullet"	Kapranos, McCarthy, Alexander Ragnew	Kapranos	2:43
7.	"Treason! Animals."	Kapranos, McCarthy	Björn Yttling	4:07
8.	"The Universe Expanded"	Kapranos, McCarthy, Hardy	Kapranos, Yttling	4:34
9.	"Brief Encounters"	Kapranos, McCarthy	Kapranos	3:09
10.	"Goodbye Lovers & Friends"	Kapranos, McCarthy	Goddard, Kapranos, Taylor	3:15
Total length:				35:04

Deluxe edition bonus disc – Right Notes, Right Words, Wrong Order (Live @ Konk Studios, London)
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Bullet"	Kapranos, McCarthy, Ragnew	2:40
2.	"No You Girls"	Franz Ferdinand	3:21
3.	"Evil Eye"	Kapranos, McCarthy	2:55
4.	"Fresh Strawberries"	Kapranos, McCarthy	3:15
5.	"Right Action"	Kapranos, McCarthy, Hardy	3:05
6.	"Goodbye Lovers & Friends"	Kapranos, McCarthy	3:31
7.	"Can't Stop Feeling" (interpolating "I Feel Love" by Donna Summer)	Franz Ferdinand, Donna Summer, Giorgio Moroder, Peter Bellotte	6:03
8.	"Treason! Animals."	Kapranos, McCarthy	3:58
9.	"Love and Destroy"	Kapranos, McCarthy	2:54
10.	"Do You Want To"	Franz Ferdinand	4:14
11.	"Ulysses"	Franz Ferdinand	2:51
12.	"Love Illumination"	Kapranos, McCarthy	4:07
13.	"Stand on the Horizon"	Kapranos, McCarthy	4:14
Total length:			1:22:12

Personnel

Personnel adapted from album's linear notes.

Franz Ferdinand

• Alex Kapranos – lead guitar, keyboards, lead vocals, composing, production (tracks 2–6, 8–10), pre-production (tracks 1–6, 9, and 10), mixing (tracks 3–5, 9 and 10), and artwork
• Nick McCarthy – rhythm guitar, vocals, keyboards, and composing
• Bob Hardy – bass and composing (tracks 1 and 8)
• Paul Thomson – drums, percussion, and backing vocals

Additional musicians

• Gus Asphalt – saxophone on "Love Illumination"
• Roxanne Clifford – backing vocals on "Fresh Strawberries"
• Daftdog – brass on "Love Illumination"
• Manuela Gernedel – backing vocals on "Fresh Strawberries"
• Joe Goddard – backing vocals on "Goodbye Lovers and Friends"
• Miriam Newman – backing vocals on "Fresh Strawberries"
• Owen Pallett – strings and string arrangement on "Stand on the Horizon"
• Alexis Taylor – keyboards and backing vocals on "Goodbye Lovers and Friends"

Production personnel

• Cerne Canning – management
• Ch4in$ – pre-production (tracks 1–6, 9, and 10)
• Anthony Chapman – additional engineering (track 9)
• Mike Fraser – mixing (track 6)
• Dave Fridmann – mixing (track 1)
• Joe Goddard – production (tracks 1 and 10)
• Mike Marsh – mastering
• Lasse Mårtén – mixing (tracks 7 and 8)
• Eskimo Peach – additional engineering (track 5)
• Nille Perned – engineering (tracks 7 and 8)
• Alexander Ragnew – composing (track 6)
• Mark Ralph – engineering (tracks 1–6, 9, and 10) and mixing (tracks 3–5, 9 and 10)
• Alexis Smith – mixing (track 2)
• Hans Stenlund – engineer (tracks 7 and 8)
• Alexis Taylor – production (tracks 1 and 10)
• Todd Terje – engineering, mixing, and production (tracks 2 and 4)
• Björn Yttling – producer (tracks 7 and 8)

Additional personnel

• Matthew Cooper – artwork
• Pabs Debussy – artwork
• Andy Knowles – photography

Charts

Charts (2013–14)	Peak position
Argentinian Albums (CAPIF)[45]	10
Australian Albums (ARIA)[46]	18
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[47]	7
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[48]	5
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[49]	10
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[50]	7
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[51]	29
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[52]	3
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[53]	48
French Albums (SNEP)[54]	6
German Albums (Official Top 100)[55]	4
Italian Albums (FIMI)[56]	15
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[57]	12
Korean Albums (Gaon)[58] Standard edition	40
Korean Albums (Gaon)[58] Deluxe edition	17
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[59]	21
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[60]	11
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[61]	15
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[62]	9
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[63]	42
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[64]	3
UK Albums (OCC)[8]	6
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[9]	1
US Billboard 200[65]	24
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[66]	4
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[67]	4
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[68]	8

References

Notes

Footnotes

External links

• Domino - Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action

Franz Ferdinand Alex Kapranos Robert Hardy Nicholas McCarthy Paul Thomson Studio albums Franz Ferdinand You Could Have It So Much Better Tonight: Franz Ferdinand Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action FFS (as FFS) Live albums Live 2003 Live 2014 at the London Roundhouse Remix albums Blood Video albums Franz Ferdinand Extended plays London Festival '09 Covers The North Sea Live E.P. NME Presents Evil Action Singles "Darts of Pleasure" "Take Me Out" "The Dark of the Matinée" "Michael" "This Fire" "Get Up and Use Me" "Do You Want To" "Walk Away" "The Fallen / L. Wells" "Eleanor Put Your Boots On" "Swallow, Smile" "Lucid Dreams" "Ulysses" "No You Girls" "Can't Stop Feeling" "What She Came For" "Die on the Floor / Katherine Hit Me" "Right Action" / "Love Illumination" "The North Sea" "Evil Eye" "Bullet" "Fresh Strawberries" "Stand on the Horizon" "Johnny Delusional" Production Dan Carey Rich Costey Tore Johansson Related articles Discography Domino Recording Company Sound Bites: Eating on Tour with Franz Ferdinand The Karelia The Yummy Fur FFS