Blood is billed as a ‘dub’ version of Franz Ferdinand‘s latest album, Tonight. Each original title takes on a new name and the album order is completely changed. But let’s get this straight: the first three tracks (‘What she came for’, ‘Can’t stop feeling’ and ‘Live alone’) are fairly straight remixes of the original cuts complete with vocals and a sense of structure. There’s very little that is ‘dub’ about them. Perhaps the dark LFO movement at the end of the extended ‘Can’t stop feeling’ could be classed as dub – but it’s not. No, not really. But herein ends the disappointment.
‘Turn it on’ arrives, bringing with it echoed guitars and fierce tape delays on vocal snippets which stacks space between speakers. Dan Carey is the man responsible for the remixing – his credentials include working alongside the legendary Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry and The Mad Professor. He also produced dub remixes of Athlete‘s Beyond the Neighbourhood album, so it’s fair to say he knows a thing about manipulating dub techniques to disorientate the listener. The extreme use of filters and panning may induce mild nausea on ‘Send him away’ which is the most authentic sounding slice of dub to be found here.
A heady brew of electronica and original dub techniques spliced together with some Glaswegian band’s soundbites, this is a record for fans and non-fans of the band alike; so credit to Franz Ferdinand for getting this together. It’s a shame that thirteen or so minutes are wasted with some non-dub remixes, but tracks 4 – 9 are easily worth the meagre £7 this will set you back.