Here are the New Releases for the week of January 27th, 2009

Franz Ferdinand – ‘Tonight: Franz Ferdinand’

The album has reportedly been inspired by the “heavy dub sound of Jamaican reggae stars.” Alex Kapranos also stated the album has a “streak of electronica” but is still a mix of influences. He also commented it has “..the heavy bass and space echo you would find on a dub mix.” In a Rolling Stone interview, Kapranos stated the album is more of a dance than a rock record. In an interview with Billboard.com, Kapranos said “It’s the opposite of punk/pop, which took something that was wonderful and removed all the dirt.” He also said the band is using Russian Polyvox synthesizers. The album has somewhat of an African influence according to an XFM article in which Alex reeled, “We’re one of these bands that are always gonna sound the same no matter what we do, but there are other influences there. I guess the drums are a little different, Paul has been listening to a lot of African stuff so that’s gonna come through.” It has also been reported that the song “Kiss Me” uses a human skeleton for percussion, ‘Tonight’ is more of a concept album that explores the highs and lows associated with an evening of debauchery. This album covers all its bases from the initial excitement of the early evening to the numbness of the morning after.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonight:_Franz_Ferdinand

Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band – ‘Working on a Dream’

The album came out of songwriting and recording that Springsteen continued with towards the close of his previous work, 2007′s Magic. “What Love Can Do” was written, in Springsteen’s words, as a “love in the time of Bush” meditation, but felt like the start of something new rather than a candidate for Magic. Encouraged by his 2000s producer Brendan O’Brien, Springsteen decided to start work on a new album and wrote “This Life”, “My Lucky Day”, “Life Itself”, “Good Eye”, and “Tomorrow Never Knows” over the next week. They were then recorded with the E Street Band during breaks on their 2007-2008 Magic Tour, with most being finished in just a few takes. This all reflected a faster pace of producing new music than Springsteen had been known for in the past. The album is the last to feature new work of founding E Street Band member Danny Federici, who died in April 2008. Federici’s son Jason also plays on the album.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Working_on_a_Dream

Other Releases:

Ciara – ‘Fantasy Ride’
Hoobastank – ‘For(n)ever’
Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes – ‘Eye-Legacy’
Richie Booker – ‘Shine The Light’
Cotton Jones – ‘Paranoid Cocoon’
Dalek – ‘Gutter Tactics’
Loney Dear – ‘Dear John’
Duncan Sheik – ‘Whisper House’

DVD:

Enigma – ‘Seven Lives Many Faces’