My theory that the Scottish will inherit the world is only furthered by the fact that yet another fine rock band has emerged from the land of sheep and beer.
Franz Ferdinand, a band hailing from Glasgow and deriving its name from an Austro-Hungarian archduke of the World War I era, released its second album in March of 2004 under the Domino record label.
Although the name might be deceiving, Franz Ferdinand is not a man producing terrible Eastern European dance hall music, but instead a rock quartet of the indie persuasion that is centered around three simple instruments -- guitar, bass and drums.
The four band members combine a lot of spunk with their training in classical music to make one of the greatest albums to grace sound systems this year.
Though the album does not even make it to 40 minutes, its brevity may be one of its strongest features.
The 11 short tracks that appear on the band's self titled album, "Franz Ferdinand," provide a very intense and energetic listening experience. The band takes the whole Weezer "bop" phenomenon to a whole new level. Try as you may to sit still while listening to the album; I would be impressed if you could do it without being somehow physically restrained.
I have, in fact, been in possession of this album for the last few weeks, but have found myself woefully unable to write its review because every time I put the album on, I have a sudden burst of physical activity, which renders me unable to sit at my desk and type.
Track one, "Jacqueline," opens with Alex Kapranos' sultry vocals and gentle guitar and abruptly transitions into a bumpy rock piece. Through a series of heavy bass lines, Kapranos sings about not wanting to work and preferring to be on "holiday." Jacqueline, the girl, seems to have become insignificant in this portion of the song.
"Tell Her Tonight" begins sounding very vintage Britpop and then resolves into a refrain that sounds almost like the Beach Boys or Bee Gees.
"Take Me Out" is the first single the band released from the album, and it is nothing short of amazing and just plain wonderful. It begins very speedily and poppish and then moves into what sounds like a meltdown of instruments as the song slows down significantly. The band relies on heavy chords to provide a transition into the second half of the song, which is significantly slower and almost disco-funk sounding.
The song has a contagious beat and rhythm that will inevitably begin to take over and subsequently become the tempo of your life.
The fourth track, "Matinee," begins with a fairly straight-forward baseline and then becomes fast-paced and more energetic. The song switches back and forth between the two tempos, creating exciting builds in the music.
"Auf Asche" marks a return to Alex's soft, effeminate vocals and solid bass lines, which basically characterize the entire album.
Aside from "Take Me Out," which was my first exposure to the album, "Auf Asche" was my favorite song. It's just good -- not for any particular reason -- just a fine piece of music.
Track six appears to be an embittered response to having been cheated on. The song responds with the shocking news that the singer, in fact, has cheated on the girl too! He mocks their love. It is a decent rock piece, although it is definitely not the highlight of the album.
"This Fire," track seven, is also a magnificent piece of musicianship.
With the guitar playing the dominant role in this song, it joins forces with the other instruments to create a refrain that's brimming with energy and enthusiasm, and creates a sound similar to that of another indie rock band, Hot Hot Heat.
"Darts of Pleasure" is a unique song, because looking at the lyrics on paper, the song would appear to be some love ballad of sorts. In fact, the song is quick and pumpy, despite dealing with "love" -- generally very subdued when represented in music. It ends with strange German, which this reporter sadly admits to not being able to translate.
The penultimate two songs, "Michael" and "Come on Home," are both very good songs, but are not especially outstanding in comparison to the rest of the album. "Michael" is a song about wanting to dance with a boy at a nightclub.
"Forty Feet," the last song on the album, is also the only song on the album which starts off slowly and actually maintains a subdued tempo throughout. It provides nice closure to the album -- still very innovative and upbeat, but significantly less spastic than some of the other tracks.
As for closing remarks on the album? Definitely the best album I've acquired this year. It's original, it's fast and upbeat, and it's short, so it's something that can be a good buffer between two more subdued albums in a playlist, and great for getting. Its energy and enthusiasm make it a fantastic and lively listen.
