Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action
by Franz Ferdinand
  • Record Label: Domino
  • Release Date: Aug 27, 2013
Metascore
71

Generally favorable reviews - based on 39 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 27 out of 39
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 39
  3. Negative: 0 out of 39
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  1. Austin Chronicle
    Oct 4, 2013
    40
    Not a song sticks. It's sheer style that carries this disc, albeit one that sounds great.
  2. Absolute Punk (Staff reviews)
    Sep 23, 2013
    60
    Last year’s stellar Battle Born, felt considerably more vibrant than Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action ever does.
  3. Magnet
    Sep 19, 2013
    65
    This fourth outing puts to bed both Tonight's frantic lonerism as well as any notion of a second night out with Alex Kapranos' equal-opportunity, Jacqueline-and-Michael seducer. [No. 102, p.56]
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  5. Tiny Mix Tapes
    Sep 12, 2013
    60
    Even ignoring the tectonic shifts in music over the past decade, this is by no means a novel or inventive album.
  6. Beats Per Minute
    Sep 11, 2013
    52
    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.
  7. Sputnikmusic
    Sep 4, 2013
    70
    It’s an album surprisingly even in its delivery, if a little underwhelming in content, somewhat reserved and unquestionably safe.
  8. Filter
    Aug 29, 2013
    70
    Right Action finds Franz Ferdinand embracing their seductive musical strengths, but this time, the usually emotionally charged tracks drenched in lust, loathing and sarcasm are replaced with lyrics blessed by the priceless gift of hindsight.
  9. NOW Magazine
    Aug 29, 2013
    60
    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.
  10. AllMusic
    Aug 29, 2013
    80
    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.
  11. Spin
    Aug 29, 2013
    80
    All those disparate styles and references should logically clash, yet here they flow seamlessly. By Franz standards, it's relaxed. Believe it or not, it's also compact and concise.
  12. Consequence
    Aug 28, 2013
    70
    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.
  13. Paste Magazine
    Aug 27, 2013
    73
    Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action is a fiendish and fun record.
  14. New Musical Express (NME)
    Aug 27, 2013
    80
    It’s an album that tries not to shout ‘old school Franz are back’, even though it unmistakably signals that old school Franz are back.
  15. Rolling Stone
    Aug 27, 2013
    70
    They return sounding hungry for blood, with all their twin-guitar glam-punk strut.
  16. The A.V. Club
    Aug 27, 2013
    83
    By expanding its worldview, Franz Ferdinand has very nicely settled onto a path toward career longevity.
  17. Under The Radar
    Aug 27, 2013
    65
    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.
  18. Chicago Tribune
    Aug 26, 2013
    75
    Its fourth studio album keeps the glitter ball spinning.
  19. Pretty Much Amazing
    Aug 26, 2013
    83
    This is a staggering return to form for the Glaswegian quartet, the sound of Franz Ferdinand coming home after a four year long absence--with the right thoughts, the right words, and the right album.
  20. Boston Globe
    Aug 26, 2013
    80
    This is the album for people who used to be Franz Ferdinand fans but strayed. It gives them a reason to come back.
  21. Pitchfork
    Aug 26, 2013
    54
    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.
  22. PopMatters
    Aug 26, 2013
    60
    A solid if uneven combination of tight, compact punkish rompers and meandering light rock offerings.
  23. The Independent on Sunday (UK)
    Aug 26, 2013
    80
    After an average third LP and a four-year hiatus, the art-rockers are once again all kinds of excellent.
  24. The Observer (UK)
    Aug 26, 2013
    80
    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.
  25. Record Collector
    Aug 23, 2013
    60
    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.
  26. Slant Magazine
    Aug 23, 2013
    80
    Franz Ferdinand's Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action is an unapologetically swaggering disco-rock album that refuses to overstay its welcome.
  27. The Independent (UK)
    Aug 23, 2013
    60
    In a year already host to some brilliant albums, it seems tired and dated.
  28. Drowned In Sound
    Aug 23, 2013
    70
    Kapranos and co have delivered what is simultaneously ‘just another Franz Ferdinand’ album and one of the indie records of the summer.
  29. Exclaim
    Aug 23, 2013
    80
    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.
  30. The Quietus
    Aug 23, 2013
    80
    Larceny and sharp, immediate hooks permeate everything they do, and so it is with Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action.
  31. The Guardian
    Aug 22, 2013
    60
    These lyrics are all...wordy.
  32. The Line of Best Fit
    Aug 22, 2013
    75
    It sounds precisely like what it is: a very straightforward Franz Ferdinand record.
  33. The Fly (UK)
    Aug 21, 2013
    60
    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.
  34. DIY Magazine
    Aug 21, 2013
    80
    Their fourth album, Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action is a thumping beast full of deliberate, sudden movements and big melodies.
  35. Q Magazine
    Aug 20, 2013
    80
    It's an album that more than makes up for Franz Ferdinand's extended absence. [Sep 2013, p.96]
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  36. musicOMH.com
    Aug 20, 2013
    80
    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.
  37. Clash Music
    Aug 12, 2013
    80
    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.
  38. Uncut
    Aug 12, 2013
    70
    Producers Todd Terje and Bjorn Yttling help effect a subtle but distinct shift, without sacrificing FF's Identity. [Sep 2013, p.89]
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  39. Alternative Press
    Aug 12, 2013
    60
    Their fourth album, Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action is just as resolute as the title. [Sep 2013, p.88]
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  40. Mojo
    Aug 12, 2013
    80
    There's no great leap forward here but the spring in their step is unmistakeable. [Sep 2013, p.87]
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Awards & Rankings

95
#95 Most Discussed Album of 2013

User Reviews

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User Score
8.1

Universal acclaim- based on 110 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 95 out of 110
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 110
  3. Negative: 4 out of 110
  1. AcePhoenix007
    Jul 29, 2014
    10
    This is hands-down one of the best albums I have ever heard in my entire life. Pretty much every track was just downright amazing. A fantasticThis is hands-down one of the best albums I have ever heard in my entire life. Pretty much every track was just downright amazing. A fantastic album by a fantastic band, no doubt.… Full Review »
  2. WadeVS
    Aug 28, 2013
    9
    Upon first listen Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Actions will probably sound like the Franz Ferdinand that jiggered and sliced their wayUpon first listen Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Actions will probably sound like the Franz Ferdinand that jiggered and sliced their way onto the scene in 2004 (if you can remember back that far). Of their four studio albums this one does most resemble their debut in my opinion. It has the same brash upbeat energy. There are moments when the band experiments with psychedelic synth. These tracks really stand out in contrast to the guitar heavy tracks. All in all this might be a return to roots for FF. But those roots were damn likeable so I say go for it!… Full Review »
  3. Mab_987
    Sep 20, 2013
    9
    With this album Franz Ferdinand is still keeping their brand of catchy, dancey & uniquely charming indie rock alive after nearly a decade.With this album Franz Ferdinand is still keeping their brand of catchy, dancey & uniquely charming indie rock alive after nearly a decade. Most of the best traits of this album can be found in its 2 current singles, “Love Illumination" and the semi-title track “Right Action”, between its infectious hooks & tight precise grooves. “Right Action” was the first taste of the album people got & it immediately became among my most anticipated of the year, despite me having never heard an album of theirs in full. It seems like every Franz Ferdinand album has that one instant classic track with a great simple riff, easily likeable lyrics & anthemic chorus that becomes a hit to some extent, and here that song is “Love Illumination”. It's that song that when the band is playing shows 20 years from now, most of the crowd will sing along with every word of in the chorus. The deep cuts are worth noting too, like the breakneck garage rock of “Bullet”, the philosophical psych-pop of “Fresh Strawberries”, the goofy but fun lyrics in the surf-rock inspired “Treason! Animals.”, and “Stand on the Horizon”, which sounds like if Bloc Party went to a disco during the A Weekend in the City sessions. The last 3 tracks in particular are among the more experimental of the bunch, going for something a bit more subtle, creepy & emotional without losing much of the engagement of the first half. The hooks aren't exactly as immediate but the cool mood they set more than makes up for that, and helps keep the album from coming off one-dimensional. Still, that's not to say this disrupts the track flow, because they manage to transition from one feeling to another in the track order expertly. I really can't think of a single thing to say against this album. It's well-written, impeccable instrumentally, packed to the brim with catchy melodies & not one track is a throwaway, even if the last half doesn't bash you over the head with earworm hooks quite as much. I suppose there's nothing extremely awesome about the lyrics, but they sound great with the music & have some sense of cohesion, and in that respect I think they succeed. I'm gonna have to make sure to listen to their other albums at some point, cause this is a really great full-length first impression.

    Top 5 tracks: Love Illumination, Right Action, The Universe Expanded, Evil Eye, Treason! Animals.
    Score: 90/100    … Full Review »
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