Franz Ferdinand Really Could Have Done Much Better
Written: Oct 10 '05
Product Rating:
Pros: Some outstanding songs, especially Eleanor Put Your Boots On...
Cons: Not much variety, really no change from the debut...
The Bottom Line: If you liked Franz Ferdinand's debut, you'll like this album also. At the same time this is great, it also shows they rushed to get this album on shelves.
lambchops's Full Review: You Could Have It So Much Better by Franz Ferdinan...
The first time I heard Franz Ferdinand it was by the suggestion of my sister who lives in London. She told me they were outstanding and energetic; retro and cool. I was more than ready to explore this musical avenue. The 2000s have proven unfortunate for rock n’ roll. Bands like Franz Ferdinand with their choppy, eccentric, kinetic style are the future of the genre—like it or not, if the past five years have proven one thing it is that we’ll be seeing a lot more of bands like this one in the next decade or so.
Formed in Glasgow in 2001, Franz Ferdinand has always consisted of frontman Alex Kapranos, Bob Hardy (bass), Paul Thomson (drums), and Nick McCarthy (guitar). It was this foursome that burst onto every music scene with their self-titled dance-pop-retro-rock debut in 2004. The fact that they didn’t change much up and returned to the studio so quickly comes as little surprise. As all new, trendy bands know it’s smart to strike again while the iron’s still hot. It seems as if this year’s brand new You Could Have It So Much Better accomplishes exactly what the band needed to. It is a solid effort even if it does have some flaws and lacks some of the surprise of the band’s debut.
You Could Have It So Much Better (Domino, 2005) is entertaining, energetic, and overall well worth the effort of listening to it (and for fans of the band making the purchase). That said, because the formula is so similar to the self-titled debut I don’t think anything here is going to change anybody’s perception about Franz Ferdinand. However it will make plenty of folks happy without stretching the bounds of what you’d expect from the band one iota. I personally enjoy a great deal of the disc—it is easy-going, relatively memorable, and easy to sing along to. Plus, there are a number of future hit singles dispersed throughout. There’s no harm in picking this one up before it sells a few million copies and it once again becomes incredibly “uncool” to like the most popular band of the moment.
The first bona fide hit (at least in the UK) has come in the form of Do You Want To which features the band’s usual fast pace, Kapranos’ typically upbeat and enunciated punk-pop vocals, and the kind of popular melody that has helped to put the band on top around the world in the last two years. It is obvious why the song was chosen as the lead-off single. Despite the powers that be choosing that song as the first, I am much more drawn to a number of the other soon-to-be-even-more-popular tracks.
Beginning with The Fallen, You Could Have It So Much Better is consistently good and occasionally excellent. The songs early on draw me in to the overall effort. I do like that while the general idea of the music hasn’t changed there is a difference in instruments. Rather than sounding like trendy disco rejects from 1980 their music has a more acoustic, richer, and more mature feel. The differences are very modest but help to separate this album from the last.
The clear choices for album best are clustered in the middle. You’re the Reason I’m Leaving highlights the band’s talents with chunky guitars, sparse percussion, and immediately enjoyable melody. It’s not unexpected or incredibly original, but it is precisely what Franz Ferdinand does best. I also really enjoy the similar style of Well That Was Easy. Sandwiched between those two songs is the least predictable and most fabulous song of the entire album, Eleanor Put Your Boots On. Taking a cue from classic Beatles, the band puts together an acoustic guitar and piano-driven mid-tempo pop track. It is truly gorgeous and goes to show that there is much more to Franz Ferdinand than a kicky beat and energetic vocals. I can’t help but believe that this could and should be the band’s future. I’m left tapping my toes and humming the melody with the lyrics running through my mind:
So Eleanor put those boots back on
Put the boots back on and run
Come on over here
As You Could Have it So Much Better draws to a close, I feel let down. Sure I have some affinity for the upbeat later songs What You Meant and Outsider, but that extra spark is missing. I don’t think that this is a bad or even average album rather it was exactly the kind of thing I knew Franz Ferdinand would produce so quickly after the success of their debut. It is fun and lively and ultimately cool, but outside of the aforementioned Eleanor Put Your Boots On it doesn’t shed any real light on the band’s enigma. It’s easy to pop this disc into the stereo and be swept away in the thumping beats and guitars which is more than I can say for more music. I just wish I wasn’t left so dry overall by the lack of development.
Rating: 3.5/5 stars (rounded up because it is Franz Ferdinand after all)
Track Listing:
01. The Fallen
02. Do You Want To
03. This Boy
04. Walk Away
05. Evil and a Heathen
06. You’re the Reason I’m Leaving
07. Eleanor Put Your Boots On
08. Well That Was Easy
09. What You Meant
10. I’m Your Villain
11. You Could Have it So Much Better
12. Fade Together
13. Outsiders
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