i can normally see why most albums that are critically acclaimed are thought of highly by musos but i must admit the praise this album has recieved has passed me by somewhat. i think their single "take me out" was righly regarded as a great single but i found the rest of the album average to say the least. songs like matinee i think are quite weak and i just could not see why it was highly regarded. i am from glasgow so i should really like this band but they leave me cold...i think they may well be found out with their next album. anybody else fell this way?

"take me out" is cool if overplayed.

Thought they were a dance act before I first heard "take me out".

Mags like Q and NME hype guitar bands up so much.....

blackboab said:

Haven't heard the album but every one of the singles sounds like a weaker version of Take Me Out, which is a song I have heard enough to last me a lifetime, thank you very much UK radio stations

I am enough of an old git to recognise a lot of the 80's influences in the band, and whilst I think they do pull it off in that they have their own sound and a solid image, they just don't float my boat, and from what people tell me, it looks as if Franz are the band that all wannabe bands are trying to copy now, where once it was Oasis.

People may assume I will hate all things modern rock, but I was a huge oasis fan. Powerful stuff. I still like their first album.

Franz sound a bit new wavey.
[Edited 3/10/05 4:47am]

thesexofit said:

Oh yeah, Definitely Maybe is a classic, but the problem is all the little wannabes copying them, not the original band themselves...although they have gone really shite!

RocknRollDave said:

Aye! First two albums were fine. Early B sides, too. Then they went a bit ....

Cloudbuster said:

Early B sides! Oh yes, most def.


Acquiesce and Headshrinker are my two faves....How's about you?

RocknRollDave said:

Those two plus Talk Tonight, Half The World Away and The Masterplan are my faves.

And I also love the single Whatever. Shame it never made it on to an album.

Cloudbuster said:

Talk Tonight
Whatever - How the hell did that manage to not be on an album?!?!

Mind you, The Jam used to do that a lot - Going Underground is probably their most famous hit and it wasn't even on an album..

And dontcha just hate it when a great song gets buried away and lost on a B side?

I think I may stay clear of the Franz Ferdinand album for a while. I really liked "Take Me Out" but as someone else said (rockandrolldave???) the radio play killed it for me. I'm not really sure what to make of them as yet. I'm just skint at the moment and don't wanna waste money on a crappy album.

As for Oasis, first two albums were great but then eveything went a bit tits up. Wonder what the new self-proclaimed "oasis classic" will be like???

I still think it's a good album. I haven't listened to it in a few months, and I didn't think it was the best album of the year, but it is a lot of fun. They tried to make a Donna Summer record, and that's always okay with me.



I know somebody else that really disliked this album
:CountingDownTillAnxietyArrives:

I like'em but I'm not trying to buy the album.

RipHer2Shreds said:

and here i am!

i don't get the hype. i listened to the album a few times and it bored me to tears. derivative, bland, affected. yawn-a-roonie. but hey, the kids love it, and it beats ashlee simpson with a broken stick, so like whatevs.

aren't they so five minutes ago anyway? shouldn't we be dressing down the arcade fire?

I have to agree, along with that group The Streets.....just can't get into that British stuff....it is severely lacking the funk.

pkidwell said:

...
...
the streets is just one guy...and the album has got something special going on.

Anxiety said:

sounds like something that Huey would do.....(eventhough I took him to the FF-concert last year.....he still likes them....I'm waiting for what they'll come up with next!)

blackboab said:

'Original Pirate Material' is a classic, not so sure about 'A Grand Don't Come For Free', his live-shows suck because he's always too wasted!

abierman said:[quote]

Anxiety said:

....
...
...hey lets leave the arcade fire out of this.....their album may well be the best album i have heard in the last ten years!!!!!

blackboab said:[quote]

abierman said:

it's definitely good, but it's safe to say they're holding the "it band" status that FF had last year.

RocknRollDave said:

LolaM said:

Probably like the last three self-proclaimed "oasis classics".

Hipsters, every last one of y'all!

I disagree, FF's debut was a hella good album and it deserved all the praise heaped upon it. It didn't do too hot saleswise in the states and that really sucks, but on whole the album was quality and consistent. You had jams like "Take Me Out" (which is probably one of the best rock songs of this decade), "Matinée," "Darts of Pleasure," "Michael" and "Cheating on You." Hell, the whole album is enjoyable. I could list every track. Just respect it for what it is... a good album.

i would respect it as a good album if i liked it.

i don't like it.

so i respect it as an album other people think is good, for whatever reason.

I do think this album was overhyped. I like it. It's fine. But it never even got into "heavy rotation" status in my house.

Regardless of MY feelings on the CD though, it WAS overhyped. It reminds me a bit of the Strokes. I'm waiting to see if the backlash will be as harsh as it was against them.

Cloudbuster said:

I still think Be Here Now was a great album...also liked Heathen Chemistry. Standing on the Shoulders is the one that kinda lost me...but it has a couple killer songs...Gas Panic and Go Let it Out.

Oh by the way Franz Ferdinand does get on my nerves...I like the album...but at about the 5 song, everything sounds the same.

Pagey said:

no man, Go Let It Out just sounds too much like Oasis.....fucking bores the shit out of me.....

Franz Ferdinand is not overrated at all. Their album is placed as the best of the year because that's where it belongs!

Here's my review from rateyourmusic:

Franz Ferdinand- Franz Ferdinand
2004
5 stars

Rarely has hype so enveloped a band as it has with Franz Ferdinand over the past few years. Heralded as the next BIG THING, their self-titled debut had already polarized the public before it was even given a chance to settle, which is unfortunate. Taken as an album without any of the media whirlwind and subsequent backlash, Franz Ferdinand offers some of the most addictive, energetic pop/rock in recent memory.

The album opens with a "false start" acoustic tinge before a Joy Division-like bass punch brings "Jacqueline" to her knees. Right away, it is apparent that Kapranos and Co. are expert melodists and as such, they are able to add a new dimension to their appeal that worthy contemporaries such as The Strokes and Interpol lack.

One of the band's strengths is its understanding of restraint. Consequently, the album's energy rarely subsides, as "Tell Her Tonight" conjures a rather warped, hyper rendition of The Kinks in under 3 minutes, while "Take Me Out" shrieks its unrelenting, primal chug with such hypnotic dexterity that even corporate radio was unable to resist. Rarely has a single had as many ideas while retaining such simplicity. In a span of under 4 minutes, "Take Me Out" combines post-punk pulse with disco flourishes, as well as depicting the duality of romance and danger. As such, the song stands as a double-edged sword both sonically and lyrically, making it an instant classic.

Elsewhere, the band passes a respectful nod to new wave in "Come on Home" with a blurry synth solo reminiscent of Blondie circa 1978. The strident "Cheating on You" and the bizarrely homo-erotic "Michael" showcase Franz flexing its collective muscles, all the while adding a splash of disco for the dance floor. The latter could have easily been a successful camp overture. But this is more than mere flirtation or suggestion. "Michael" is purely carnal- dirty, sweaty and masculine. In "Darts of Pleasure," it is the power of the pen that is the source of inspiration, as Alex expounds on the seduction of words. Perhaps the best track of all is the electronic "Auf Achse," whose exquisite drama and eerie pulse recall the glory of David Bowie's Berlin period.

When the album closes with the eerie, somewhat mythical standout "40'", the elapsed magic is so palatable and compact that it is difficult to not play it anew. Taken as a whole, it is easy to understand why these 11 tracks of winks, whispers and innuendo turned critic and casual listener alike into giggling teenagers.

Darts of pleasure, indeed.