Just noticed the review formatting has returned, thank god for that
Just noticed the review formatting has returned, thank god for that
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The stream of decent Scottish bands seems to have been carrying on recently with the arrival of Snow Patrol and Franz Ferdinand on the music scene shows that for every Mull Historical Society Scotland is still capable of producing a few decent bands. Having already told you about Snow Patrol it’s obviously the turn of Glasgow based Franz Ferdinand who got together back in 2001 after a couple of friends decided to form and band and then happened to come across another couple of guys who they didn’t know but fancied giving it a try.
This has resulted in Ferdinand being made up of 3 Scots and a German a fact that is reflected within their music. The aim of the band well they wanted to meet girls and more importantly wanted to make music for Girls to dance to. Having played a number of underground gigs in Glasgow, during one of which lead singer Al Kapranos was arrested. News of the band spread to London and before they knew it they would be well on the way to major success. The final result 3 years after forming was the release of the self titled debut album Franz Ferdinand.
The opening track “Jacqueline” is a contrast of 2 very different styles, which really compliment each other well. The start is much slower than the rest of the album, with the vocals leading in over the odd strum of the guitar. Then the main part of the song really gets going as the guitar really speeds up and takes over, with a drum beat adding into the back ground and the real start to the album. The lyrics for the remainder of the song are much better than those of the opening segment. The guitars and drumbeat really compliment each other and ultimately the vocals as well making it an easy track to listen to and enjoy.
That’s followed up by “Tell Her Tonight” a fairly short track that is quite reminiscent of the earlier Coral tracks.
The guitar and bass really bring the track in with the bass really echoing through the introduction and then the vocals and drums joining in. The pace of the track is pretty quick and the guitars really help to move it along and combined with that booming bass throughout the track give it a real move your body kind of feel. A strong drumbeat really helps the pace of the track as well, while the vocals are really complimented by the beat as well. From the opening tracks I’d say music for girls to dance to is a success.
We then come to the bands debut single and the track most of you will have heard. “Take Me Out” really has helped Franz Ferdinand to make a huge impact on the British music scene. Again it opens with a fast paced guitar intro with the vocals and drums coming in fairly quickly afterwards providing an amazing start to the track. The drumbeat gives it a real feel that you need to just get up and move or just nod your head, basically anything in time to the music to get you moving. The lyrics work really well and as possibly the best track on the album is the perfect example of what Franz Ferdinand are all about.
“The Dark Of The Matinee” has the hard job of following on from “Take Me Out” and in truth it does succeed. From the opening with the drum beat and guitar combo kicking it off to the slower verse the song really has a good beat and rhythm. The vocals as on all the tracks are amazing and really suit the style of the lyrics and are complimented well by the musical elements of the tracks. A solid drumbeat not only through this track but the whole album really keeps it moving along smoothly. One thing that can be said about Franz is that they are certainly a bit different to anything else around at the moment and this really helps the band keeping tracks like this fresh.
As already mentioned there is a distinct German influence in their music and the first track to really show that is “Auf Achse” for obvious reasons. It starts a little slower than the other with a keyboard getting it underway but when the guitars come in it starts to pick up a bit. The drums join about the same time as the guitars and continue to lead in with the introduction of almost a minute. Again the vocals really give the song an edge as although it has a very repetitive beat and rhythm the vocals and lyrics make this track. Again though that beat although repetitive makes for a really decent track that’s a joy to listen to.
Almost half way through the album and we come to “Cheating On You”. The pace well and truly returns here as the fast guitar intro accompanied by the drums at a similar pace bring in the introduction and get things moving. The vocals seem to slot in nicely and keep the same pace going and not breaking anything up. The drum beat really compliments the entire song and creates a good backbone to be built on while the guitars keep the interest and work really well with the vocals.
The joint longest track on the album at just over 4 minutes is “This Fire”, which begins a tad slower than the last track but quickly builds up. The introduction led by the drums and symbol while a guitar plays a couple of chords over the top sounds like The Strokes, which is never a bad thing. The pace settles down and although not as fast paced as the other tracks it is constant and in no way can be described as mellow. The vocals again sound amazing and work well along side the guitars and after 7 tracks its plain to see Franz Ferdinand are a band with a big future ahead of them.
My favourite track has to be “Darts Of Pleasure” a fairly short track but it sounds just as good as “Take Me Out” and no doubt will be a future single. The drums start it off before the Bass and then guitars join in followed shortly afterwards by the vocals. The drums again provide a good back bone, keeping a very constant solid beat while the guitars really take over the track and lead it on at a faster pace than the previous one. The vocals again are fantastic and obviously well thought out and written show the band to be a lot more than a one hit wonder.
One thing that works well for the album is the pace and length of the tracks with them all being around the three minute mark keeping it punchy but when you come to track 9, “Michael” so quickly you do start to wish it was a little bit longer. The guitars kick it off with the drums joining almost instantly really counting in through the intro while one guitar really takes off the other keeps in time with the drums throughout the start of the track. This of course is another well written song and the vocals really bring the best out in the lyrics while the guitar really makes the track moving it along and keeping things fresh.
Only 2 tracks to go and its onto “Come On Home”. Another fast start but again although using the guitar and drums every track has started differently which really is a testament to the band. A slower paced beat with the drums but the guitars still give the impression of a faster paced track and this really does work well for the track. The vocals come in fairly soon after the start and although sounding similar to the other tracks they seem to change to suit the pace of the track as the Al does have a distinctive voice but this just adds to the appeal of the band.
And now onto the final track of the album “40ft”. A much slower start with the odd chord of the guitar before a slow drum beat comes in as well and really gets it moving. A bit slower than most of the other tracks but still sounding amazing. The vocals start up after about half a minute and again a combination of great lyrics and a decent singer make this something that’s really worth listening to. The drums keep the beat going that has been there throughout the album and this helps to keep the pace of the album as a whole going even though this is a slower track. The guitars really lead the way though dictating changes in pace and giving the song a real quality, just like the rest of the album.
So the aim of the album was to make music for girls to dance to and the end result is really an album that anyone can dance to. A superb debut that will really set Franz Ferdinand on the way. I think from the first 3 months of the year there have been a lot of decent albums this year already and Franz have definitely added one to the list and quite possibly one of the best debuts in years. Its very rare for an album to have 11 amazing tracks and not a weak ling in sight, but Franz Ferdinand manage it. If you like The Strokes then you’ll love Fran or if you like the single “Take Me Out “ give the album a try.
Amazon.co.uk: £8.49
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Good review, very informative. This is the best band for years, love it.
Paul32 27.04.2004 20:25
Great review of a great album (that I saved up my pocket money for and bought today!). They look and sound a bit like Talking Heads to me, which is never a bad thing.
Touted as being the first great album of 2004, Franz Ferdinand's eponymous debut may be ... more
the secret weapon that'll kick-start the British fight against the White Strokes. Though they have a reputation as being bohemian art-obsessed dilettantes, they're ...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Advantages: Strong Tracks, Good Lyrics, Original, Started the rebirth of modern Indie Music Disadvantages: quality of the first album could not be repeated on their following albums
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