Review of Self-titled Album by Franz Ferdinand

Franz Ferdinand

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Franz Ferdinand, Self-titled' - Album Review

Franz Ferdinand is one of the British music scenes most hyped up new bands this year, so the question is: do they live up to that hype? The answer is yes and no. The self-titled album is great but it does borrow from so many genres it's quite hard to ignore this fact.

If you were expecting more of the same as Take Me Out' then you won't be disappointed for the most part although the styles do differ sometimes. I was quite surprised to hear track 1, Jacqueline', start off so whimsically folksy but then the beat kicked in and it was business as usual.

The album version of Take me Out' is different; I had to double

Music - Franz Ferdinand, Self-titled' - Album Review

check the track listings to make sure it was the same tune. There's a different start to the song which bears almost no resemblance to the rest of the song. Next track, Matinee' is a mix of dark glam rock and new wave which pulls you in and takes you along for the ride. Singer Alexander Kapranos's voice is so distinctly British and he wraps it closely around the words and tune with great effect.

Auf Asche' is not what I expected it to be as it opens with a piano melody that sparks off a sinister tune about lust and obsession. It's tighter than George Bush's security with a really well kept rhythm section. Not really like Take Me Out' or Darts of Pleasure' but is one of the best tracks on the album. Cheating on you' almost reverts back to type. Starts like Muse but quickly turns into 60s rock n' roll, that doesn't stop it from steam-rolling its way into your consciousness.

The award for strangest song on the album has to go to '40 ft' a subdued affair which for some reason reminds me of icebergs. Far jazzier than the rest of the album it goes crazy then calms down and so on. It's very different from the rest of the album not that, that's a bad thing. For the most part, this is a great album but sometimes it can seem like Franz Ferdinand have cobbled together various bits of different genres to complete an album.

(Domino)

Natasha Perry

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