Franz Ferdinand

Franz Ferdinand

Image of Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand
Record Label
Domino

About this item

Wow. One of the best debut albums ever, people! Don't be misled by their deliberately geeky, mischievous flamboyance. And don't be put off by the hype: this is seriously good music. It's fun-filled, daft, mad and cheeky, for sure; but there's 11 songs here and they're all brilliant. No filler. This laughs in the face of the serious classicist / revisionists because whilst this does look back (Gang Of Four, Joseph K, late 70s reggae, XTC, Television, Magazine) the music is somehow uniquely their own, vitally now and urgently alive. Every song has some special, clever detail that just lifts it right up and every one also skanks, swings, rocks or bops. The boys' got rhythm! OK, so it's knock-kneed, undernourished, white-boy funk like New York's Rapture or Radio 4, but this lot aren't impersonating anybody. The Strokes must've been their catalyst (they opened the treasure-box dated '79-'81) and like The Strokes, Franz Ferdinand sound like no-one but themselves. Only the best bands manage this. One tune, "Auf Asche" fits about three songs in one, all seamlessly segued over a Blondie-ish disco bounce and Chic-punky scratchy guitars. Elsewhere there's surfy twangs, camp, wonky disco, spoof spooky dub and dead catchy new-wave nuggets. Deliberately non-mainstream but defiantly POP, crammed full of charisma and happy twists / irreverent turns.

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