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Evil Eye (Franz Ferdinand song)

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"Evil Eye"
Franz Ferdinand Evil Eye Remixes
Single by Franz Ferdinand
from the album Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action
Released28 October 2013 (2013-10-28)
Recorded2013
StudioSausage (London)
Genre
Length2:47
LabelDomino
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Franz Ferdinand singles chronology
"Love Illumination"
(2013) 		"Evil Eye"
(2013) 		"Bullet"
(2013)

"Evil Eye" is a song by Scottish indie rock band Franz Ferdinand. It was released as the third single from the band's fourth studio album, Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action, on 28 October 2013. The song was written by Alex Kapranos and Nick McCarthy, recorded during 2013, and produced by Kapranos and Todd Terje.[1]

Composition

"Evil Eye" features indie rock, funk punk,[2] dance-rock,[3] and ska.[4] The song was written by Alex Kapranos and Nick McCarthy and produced by Kapranos and Norwegian DJ Todd Terje.[5] The song is about the evil eye and all-seeing eye, which were things that Kapranos was very interested about during the recording of Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action.[6][7]

Music video

A music video for the song was released on 8 September 2013.[8] It was directed by Diane Martel, known for her controversial video for Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines", Miley Cyrus' "We Can't Stop", as well as her work with artists such as Mariah Carey, The White Stripes, Beyoncé, and others.[9]

The video is a pastiche of low-budget horror films.[10] In a press statement, Franz Ferdinand frontman Alex Kapranos called it "a gruesome blood orgy eye stab death romp wide-oh creep necro fest." Pitchfork called the video "repulsive, VHS-style clip",[9] and Kyle McGovern of Spin magazine wrote, "the clip splices together a stomach-turning montage of gross-out footage: Blood spewing from a sink faucet, people getting butchered and dismembered, throats being cut, cannibalism, and frontman Alex Kapranos sporting a dirtbag moustache."[10]

Critical reception

Adam Silverstein of Digital Spy wrote that "'Evil Eye' soldiers on with the short, snappy stomp and delves into the psyche of a paranoiac ('It looks so clean but I can see the crawling, crawling creatures'), all via a groove that pays homage to Queen's 'Another One Bites the Dust'."[11]

AllMusic's Heather Phares noted that "Evil Eye" is one of the songs on the album that "feel like direct descendants of the band's debut", and said that it "gives the gut-punching beats of 'Take Me Out' a campy twist with mischievous keyboards destined to make it the coolest song on the Halloween party playlist."[12] According to Dan Stubbs of NME magazine, "there's a freshness to the sound" on "Evil Eye", and the song is "essentially Snoop Dogg's 'What's My Name?' via Rockwell's 'Somebody's Watching Me' – creepy, jumpy and as funky as James Brown's ghost."[13]

Pitchfork's Ian Cohen wrote that "The chorus of 'Evil Eye' slinks and skulks enough to recall a time when Franz Ferdinand sounded sleazier and more dancefloor-oriented than your average rock band, but it has to fight through a verse filled with bothersome vocal filters (an indulgent byproduct of their self-production) to do so."[14] In a similar tone, James Manning of Time Out magazine noted that "'Evil Eye' matches its big, funky strut with creepy vintage organs, while a heavily reverbed Kapranos cackles like a Hammer Horror villain."[15]

Track listing

CD

No.TitleLength
1."Evil Eye" (Radio edit)2:47
2."Evil Eye" (Album version)2:47

Digital download

  • Domino — RUG555D1[17]
Evil Eye Remixes[18][19]
No.TitleLength
1."Evil Eye"2:47
2."Evil Eye" (Alan Braxe Remix)4:01
3."Evil Eye" (Alan Braxe Dub)3:54
4."Evil Eye" (The New Sins FREAK Version)6:15
5."Evil Eye" (The New Sins FREAK Dub)5:50
6."Evil Eye" (In Flagranti Rework)6:26

Personnel

Personnel adapted from the album's liner notes

Charts

Chart (2013) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)[20] 7
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Wallonia)[21] 37

Release history

Region Date Label Format Catalogue no.
United Kingdom 28 October 2013 Domino Digital download RUG555D1[17]
CD RUG555CDP[16]

References

  1. ^ "Franz Ferdinand's Evil Eye Plus UK Tour". Domino Recording Company. 9 September 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  2. ^ Zaleski, Annie (27 August 2013). "Review: Franz Ferdinand - Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 23 April 2016.
  3. ^ "Chorus.fm". 20 December 2023.
  4. ^ Montgomery, Hugh (24 August 2013). "Album: Franz Ferdinand, Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action (Domino)". The Independent. Retrieved 23 April 2016.
  5. ^ Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action (album liner notes). Franz Ferdinand. Domino Recording Company. 2013.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  6. ^ "Franz Ferdinand's Alex Kapranos On The Importance Of Structure". NPR. 24 August 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  7. ^ "Franz Ferdinand - Come Home, Practically All, Is Nearly Forgiven". YouTube. 23 August 2013. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
  8. ^ "Franz Ferdinand - Evil Eye (Official Video)". YouTube. 8 September 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  9. ^ a b Minsker, Evan; Pelly, Jenn (9 September 2013). "Watch Franz Ferdinand's Gory "Evil Eye" Video, Directed by "Blurred Lines" Director Diane Martel". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  10. ^ a b McGovern, Kyle (9 September 2013). "Watch Franz Ferdinand's NSFW, Torture-Porny 'Evil Eye' Video". Spin. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  11. ^ Silverstein, Adam (18 August 2013). "Franz Ferdinand: 'Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action' - Album review". Digital Spy. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  12. ^ Phares, Heather. "Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  13. ^ Stubbs, Dan (20 August 2013). "Franz Ferdinand - 'Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action'". NME. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  14. ^ Cohen, Ian (26 August 2013). "Franz Ferdinand: Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action". Pitchfork. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  15. ^ Manning, James (16 August 2013). "Franz Ferdinand – 'Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action' album review". Time Out. Archived from the original on 2 November 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  16. ^ a b "Franz Ferdinand - Evil Eye (CD)". Discogs. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  17. ^ a b "Franz Ferdinand - Evil Eye Remixes (File, MP3)". Discogs. Retrieved 17 July 2015.
  18. ^ "Domino:Evil Eye Remixes". Domino Recording Company. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  19. ^ "Evil Eye Remixes - EP by Franz Ferdinand". iTunes. 28 October 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  20. ^ "Franz Ferdinand – Evil Eye" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved 2 December 2013.
  21. ^ "Franz Ferdinand – Evil Eye" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
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