Franz Ferdinand - 'Franz Ferdinand' (Domino)
4/5
By: Tim Dellow
... And, on their debut proper, the band justify their reputation as poncy art students, rabbiting on about the return of the Gaze, before bursting into a neo-Shadows surf riff, complete with vitrolized Cocker musings. Genius. Favourably, the echoes of 'Modern life is Rubbish' only continue into 'Tell Her Tonight', essentially an E-d up Kinks b-side riding above its station.
But, of course, the album really starts on track three; 'Take Me Out', the stomping dance-punk 'What Wave' anthem, and more camp than Butlins - the Interpol track in which they finally stop worrying about being the 'coolest band in the world', prompting the song to morph into the frog-march death-stomp that will save any shindig. And that's part of the point.
'This Fire', just pops because it has to, Franz forgetting that they're on an art-rock label and letting go with the most energetic dizco blast you've heard since its predecessor on the best British album of the year. 'Darts of Pleasure', meanwhile, could earn themselves a spot at an Astoria G-A-Y night, but it's all varied enough to please any Wire reader with a sense of humour (if such a thing exists). The character writing, a quintessentially British trait, has developed vastly from their Brit-beat predecessors by including the writer as a participant instead of just a too cool to join in spectator. On 'Michael', meanwhile, the jocks serenade their straight mate into dancing with them in a beautiful, sensuous celebration of sex - at the same time inviting the listener to join in, shaking it 'round your room in a glorious destruction of coital taboos.
A slightly limp ending to the album follows, the sub-Buckley 'Come On Home' acting like a partner who teased you all night but couldn't follow through (too much to drink, to much to smoke... too late) only slightly consoled by the aural equivalent of him guiltily frigging you off in an attempt to leave you with some sort of gratification. But, after the party you've just had, you won't care.
'Live 2003'
Goodness, there's also (shh!) a live bootleg doing the rounds... recorded from the soundboard at FF's 2003 Astoria show supporting Hot Hot Heat. Most of the tracks appear on the album, barring the b-side 'Shopping For Blood' (within which, you presume, sub-standard social commentary certainly didn't warrant album-inclusion), and the rarities 'Margarita' and 'Truck Stop'.
While the raw nature of the live recordings is appealing, the album proper is hardly overproduced, and while an exhilarating rush to satisfy your 'What Wave'™ cravings before the release, it would be preferable to see Domino have a number one album off their own backs instead of people supporting illegal bootleggers (even if it is, as reports go, released by the band itself). All this is inconsequential, however, as these f**kers are rarer than unicorn shit, so if you find one, sell it on Ebay and release your own record with the proceeds. You know it makes sense.
Artists in this article: Franz Ferdinand
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