New Franz Ferdinand album: You Could Have it So Much Better

[Joe]

No, that's not a comment, that's the actual title of the album. It came out today. I discovered Franz Ferdinand a bit more later than most people - earlier this summer - but I loved their first album all the same and have definitely gotten some funny looks from people while humming those insanely catchy guitar hooks.

After a few listenings, I'm pretty sure it's not as good as their first album, but that's no shame as every tune on the first one could have been a single. Maybe more listenings will change that. That being said, I still really like it and think this is a great album, and it's safe to say that the band didn't fizzle after their fantastic first album.

Basically all the stuff that made the first album great - guitar hooks, catchy dance tunes, and shifting time changes (well, I dug them, anyway) are here, plus a little more. The Fallen, the first track, opens with one of their trademark guitar hooks and has some of the most singable lyrics to come from the band. People say it's a political song, but honestly I don't really see it. I think it'll probably be one of the favorites and would be surprised if it doesn't end up as a single. The first single, Do You Want To, is at least as danceable as any of the songs on the first album and is similar to Take Me Out in that it opens with a relatively fast intro that shifts to a slower tempo for the bulk of the song. Also, more homoerotic lyrics. My favorite song is probably Well That Was Easy, which again features a number of tempo shifts and a truly brilliant 45 second conclusion that alone should make it a single.

There are also some slower songs that get away from the band's style. Eleanor Put Your Boots Back On has been compared favorably with the Beatles, and Fade Together isn't really like any other song I've heard from Franz thus far. In addition to this, there are some surprisingly raw, more punkish tunes like Evil and a Heathen and the title track.

The lyrics still are nothing spectacular, but who gives a shit, really?

Overall, a very fun album with enough of what made the first album great to make it worth buying, but at the same time enough to say that the band is growing and not just rehashing what they did last year. Still one of my favorite bands around. 4.25/5.

[Bertie Wooster]

I said back in Jan. in this thread that:

The only new album I've bought that really rocked my socks this year was Franz Ferdinand.

They should go on to do great things.

They're going have a very difficult time producing a sophomore album which doesn't dissapoint, because their first album relied so much on guitar hooks.

but it looks Franz Ferdinand has succeeded.

I was a very big fan of Franz Ferdinand's self-titled debut album and played it continuously in March and April 2004. I can tell already, that I'll be sentimental about their music 10 years from now. That said, I have high expectations for their new album, and can't wait to get it for myself.
I of course double-checked with my most trusted source for record reviews at pitchforkmedia.com and I was pleased with what I read about "You Could Have it So Much Better."

It's a well-written review IMO. link

You've probably clicked over here to see if the boys in this band could be suffering from any form of second-album slouching. Here's the thing, though: I'm not convinced these boys make albums. Not like that, and not in those terms. Sometimes, when we call an act a "singles band," we mean something cruel and obvious-- that their album tracks just aren't very good. But with Franz Ferdinand, we mean something kinder: that their whole project, their whole system of stylish poses and cocksure guitar stomps, just happens to work better in discrete, surprising, three-minute blasts. It's damned generous of them, really.

[Dalton]

Fun fact: Take Me Out is the song used on the PSP commercials.

[Spanky The Dolphin]

Fun fact: Take Me Out is the song used on the PSP commercials.

Heh, Uts hates that song to such a degree, merely from the sample that they use on the PSP ads...

[Joe]

Fun fact: Take Me Out is the song used on the PSP commercials.

I thought those were great commercials, personally.

[Dangermouse]

Awesome. I loved their first album; its one of the few that I can play all the way through. I am glad they released their second album on record as well. I just ordered it so I have a few days to dust off the record player before it comes.

[Drewcifer]

Rolling Stone (983) said this about the first single, "Do You Want To":

"If there's a finite number of pop hooks in the universe, all other bands had better watch out: Franz Ferdinand are using way more than their share".

They gave the single 4 of 4 stars, too.