Franz Ferdinand

Album Reviews:

2004: Franz Ferdinand

---

Franz Ferdinand

1 Jacqueline 2. Tell Her Tonight 3. Take Me Out 4. The Dark of the Matinée 5. Auf Achse 6. Cheating on You 7. This Fire 8. Darts of Pleasure 9. Michael 10. Come on Home 11. 40′

That’s why we only work when we need the money

On the ever-present question of British rock acts having to decide between being lads or being dandies, Franz Ferdinand’s debut, like many of their most interesting antecedants, manages to pull energy from both poles of the spectrum: Jerky, sharp guitar play of shabby-chic art school punk meets the choruses and sweeping sing-a-long anthems of a pub crawl. As a stand-out album of the early and mid-2000s when indie rock took a liking to post-punk revivalism, it was one of the defining album’s of the year and quickly became a sort of classic.

The good news is that it deserves the merits: With some of the smartest lyrics to make the mainstream sector that year, and a danceable but rarely one-dimensional drive, Franz Ferdinand is a jittery and smudgy affair, encapsulating the excitement of an indie art room after-party gone slightly over the edge. The record doesn’t even bother to change tempos or hint at diversity in songwriting – silly idea, this record is about allure and hedonism of rushing through the streets, finding the next party. So don’t waste your time looking for the otherwise mandatory „slow ballad“, or the more „intricate middle piece“ other bands of Franz Ferdinand’s talent and ambition might have forced upon themselves. Imagine Gang of Four, but ‘Entertainment!’ being their actual political mission. Or the propulsive intensity of Television, without the existential angst. Kapranos’ delivery between smug bastard and sardonic seducer reinforces the band’s presentation of a breathless ride through nightlife hysteria: sexy and playing at being dangerous, but never falling for their own pose. Witty, intoxicatingly stylish post-punk – kind of weird the mid-2000s disappeared so quickly.