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| Franz Ferdinand |
 Line-up:Alexander Kapranos - Vocals/Guitar Paul Thompson - Percussions Robert Hardy - Bass Guitar Nicolas McCarthy - Guitar/Backing Vocals "Though they have a reputation as being bohemian art-obsessed dilettantes, they're at the vanguard of the Art Wave scene, and possess a fierce determination to change the face of modern music--their twin aims: to bring back cerebral rock that makes you want to dance, and to bring frontline music back home (...) Though they draw on the past, they do so wisely, injecting voguish angular 80s synth-pop with old-fashioned heart and soul. Their debut embraces the experimental, featuring time-signature changes and mid-song tempo drops, yet its solidity prevents it from consignment to the gratuitously quirky bin. If you feel that the Rapture lack a sense of drama and Interpol lack joy and energy, then Franz Ferdinand are the boys for you. Their stated ambition is to erase the Archduke Franz Ferdinand from the annals of history and replace him in the collective consciousness with themselves. Archduke who?
-- Paul Eisinger, amazon.com
  ½ 2004:
Franz Ferdinand
 "Not since the heyday of the Strokes and the White Stripes (!) have the British rock press been so unanimously orgiastic over a bunch of sharp-dressed, song-writing instrument wielders. (...) Careful listening isn't required to notice echoes of Gang Of Four's scratchy swing, The Smiths' lambent lovelorn proclivity, The Fall's sideways punk dynamism and even a dance-oriented pulse that suggests, albeit abstractly, the rampant rhythmic hedonism of acid house-era warehouse parties and the low-slung dance productions of the DFA crew. There's also some of the most striking use of bass since Peter Hook's work with New Order and Joy Division, and the presence of curiously evocative lyricism that gives the most banal of situations a curiously exciting resonance, as well as the seemingly obligatory employment of jerky, scratchy guitar a la Television, all dolled up in a spazz-dance sheen. Despite all of this, these are ridiculously tuneful, deceptively straightforward rock songs, all of which hover around the three-to-four minute mark. Comparisons with the aforementioned Strokes are all but inevitable, both in scenario and in sound. (...) this album is an arms-flailing classic, to which dancing like a headcase yields inexplicable reward.
-- Allan Harrison, Splendid Magazine
 ½
2005:
You Could Have it So Much BetterTracklisting: 1.The Fallen 2.Do You Want To 3.This Boy 4.Walk Away 5.Evil & A Heathen 6.You're The Reason I'm Leaving 7.Eleanor Put Your Boots On 8.Well That Was Easy 9.What You Meant 10.I'm Your Villain 11.You Could Have It So Much Better 12.Fade Together 13.Outsiders "'You Could Have It So Much Better', as a whole, is harder-edged and rockier than last year's eponymous debut, perhaps as a result of the influence of new producer Rich Costey. The initial assault of the opening trio of songs - The Fallen, Do You Want To and the thrashily tuneful This Boy - is over in a flash; all three tracks come rushing at you hard, fast and jumpy. Likely future single Walk Away applies the brakes a touch, with a rare acoustic guitar and a straightforward four-four rhythm. It's a smooth and laconic song, all minor chords and mystery, with occasional spikes of edgy guitar piercing the lazy atmosphere. Another highlight comes with I'm Your Villain - a speedy, tempo-switching clash of Roxy Music, 'This Is Hardcore'-era Pulp, and The Undertones. The only real departures from the now trademark FF sound come with Fade Together, a wistful ballad let down by a poor chorus, and Eleanor Put Your Boots On, a very McCartney-esque effort which lyrically references a handful of New York landmarks like the Statue Of Liberty, and (less obviously) Coney Island. Both songs serve as a gentle foil to the record's almost all-pervading jumpiness."
-- Chris Watkeys, soundgenerator.com, 10/05
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