FFS @ Lincoln Theatre - 10/5/15
Monday night at the Lincoln Theater two veteran bands came together to give DC audience members their first "live" taste of a new collaboration.
FFS is a simple acronym for Franz Ferdinand + Sparks, a short-stack of artists that consists of the Scottish indie band Franz Ferdinand and the electronic duo from LA, Sparks. While both bands have such distinct personalities separately, together they seem to extract only the best parts of both, forming something beyond the sum of their parts.
After years of planning for their debut album, it’s been said that this super group of sorts recorded their recent studio effort in just three weeks. The self-titled endeavor, released earlier this year, is an impressive mix of unfamiliar sounds and repetitive pop based grooves. While the album certainly marks a high point of recent work for both acts, its appeal is the openness and creativity of everyone involved.
FFS is a hard band to describe on paper, but it might not be necessary to pigeonhole them into a sound or stick them into a genre. This is one collaboration that is literally doing its own thing. Utilizing stylized vocal harmonies reminiscent of something you might hear in Freddie Mercury's catalog, FFS adds an electric mood to its soft-rock core. The result is a fresh and surprising sound that shifts nimbly from dark and ominous tonal hues, to quirky dance-rock, with a slight-bit of Northern European humor reminiscent of the Beatles ala their Help/Yellow Submarine days thrown in for good measure.
FFS - and Franz Ferdinand - front man Alex Kapranos performing at the Lincoln Theatre in Washington, DC - 10/5/15 (photo by Richie Downs/@richiedowns)
When they took the stage at the Lincoln the anticipating crowd welcomed them by rushing to the front of the stage to dance and celebrate. Going straight into song, it wasn't long before everyone clapped and waved their arms in unison with the music. Their performance was solid and full of a fun energetic moments punctuated by the theatric expressions of Alex Kapranos and Russell Mael. FFS’s live show proved no real separation from what they have achieved on their augural album. Watching their performance demonstrated that something creative and different can be achieved in a somewhat stale industry.
Touring to promote their self-titled 2015 release, FFS has selected dates scheduled throughout the US until mid October.
or the evenings opening act, a pop rock four-piece band from Seattle, The Intelligence, had the honors of sharing the stage. Their energetic style rang through the theater and made for the perfect primer for the nights music sure to transpire.
