FEATURE:
Take Me Out, Play It Loud
The Incredible Franz Ferdinand at Twenty
_________
ONE of the most important and essential…
debut albums of the 2000s, Franz Ferdinand arrived on 9th February, 2004. As it turns twenty very soon, I wanted to spend time with a classic that won the 2004 Mercury Music Prize and was nominated for Best Alternative Album at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards. Reaching number three in the U.K. album chart and spawning huge singles like Take Me Out, The Dark of the Matinée and Michael, this album still sounds awesome today. I am going to get to a couple of critical reviews for Franz Ferdinand. Before I get to those reviews, Tone Deaf marked a decade of Franz Ferdinand’s hugely acclaimed debut album in 2014. The Glasgow band’s fifth studio album, Always Ascending, was released in 2018. I wonder how they will mark twenty years of an album I would recommend people go and buy. The twentieth anniversary pressing arrives on 9th February:
“Music that girls can dance to.”
This is how Alex Kapranos concisely described the sound of his then unknown band all the way back in 2003.
Five months later, Franz Ferdinand’s debut album would be released, catapulting the Scottish foursome to the forefront of the Brit indie rock scene, and quickly becoming recognised as a modern classic of the genre.
The record would go on to sell over 3.6 million copies worldwide, win the 2004 Mercury Music Prize, sweep the Hottest 100, cement the band’s riffs and unique sound in popular culture, and contribute hugely to the revival of the post-punk genre.
Not bad for a band that only wanted to make girls dance.
Despite the lead singer and guitarist’s simple aims, the album is much more than just music that you can dance to.
It is the frantic, catchy guitars, imposing drum and bass combinations, confident vocals, and complex, intriguing lyrics that combine to form the wholly unique and, at the time, revolutionary sound of Franz Ferdinand – one that would be constantly imitated, and still influential to bands today.
It all began at a party in 2002, when Kapranos met drummer Paul Thompson and sparked a close friendship. Fellow friend Bob Hardy was taught the bass guitar by the frontman, while guitarist Nick McCarthy befriended the trio after returning from studying jazz in Germany.
The four friends were quickly signed to independent label Domino Records, and released their first EP, Darts Of Pleasure, at the end of 2003, before moving to Gula Studios in Sweden to record the album that would start it all.
Although ‘Darts Of Pleasure’ would also be the first single, it was the now-renowned riff featured on ‘Take Me Out’ that kick-started Franz Ferdinand’s success. It is a riff that would be constantly imitated by an array of bands inspired by the Glasgow-based pioneers.
The smooth, vocal driven track doesn’t really seem all that special – not until the frenetic, up-tempo guitar interjects one minute and four seconds in. From that moment, it was obvious that Franz Ferdinand were onto something special.
The ten-year-old record’s effects are still being felt today, and have helped to craft the likes of Kaiser Chiefs, The Zutons, and The Futureheads. The huge, diverse riffs are evident on much of Bloc Party’s work, who have also experienced a similar career trajectory towards more electronic sounds. Franz Ferdinand also proved influential on many other indie rock acts, including Friendly Fires, Klaxons, Kasabian, Editors, and nearly every other guitar rock band that has followed them.
Although it may be a shock that the record is already ten years old, it certainly feels somewhat dated listening to it, but that is more a comment that relates to how often and prevalently it is imitated, and should take nothing away from just how new and revolutionary it was in 2004.
While Kapranos and co may have set out just to make “music that girls can dance to”, on their debut, Franz Ferdinand helped to craft and revitalise an entire genre with a unique, clever, and concise record that is still as important and influential now as it was ten years ago”.
In 2004, Pitchfork reviewed an anticipated and wonderful debut album from an exciting British band. Even though Franz Ferdinand have inspired bands since, I am not sure whether there was anyone quite like them on the scene twenty years ago. The Franz Ferdinand album stands out as one of the first from the first decade of the 2000s:
“Not content to kickstart their career on an album laden mostly with potential, the Glaswegians have banged out a celebratory LP with lyrics bearing surprising satire, wit, and unabashed romance. On the upcoming single, "Dark of the Matinee", Alexander Kapranos positions himself as a bitter cynic who eventually gives in to fame (though it may be, as the title suggests, in the dimmer regions of the spotlight) after being charmed by an attractive optimist, and, one would imagine, the unapologetic funk of the track itself. By the last verse, Kapranos imagines himself smiling wide, sitting with Abba-loving AM talk show host Terry Wogan. With their meteoric rise, Franz Ferdinand could very well be within a year of it. They're poised to be the next Duran Duran or the next Pulp. Or they could be the next Menswear. In any case, it will be a spectacle.
"Jacqueline" opens the album deceivingly with gentle acoustic strums and student poem prattle before raygun guitars and splashing cymbals annihilate any notion of plaintive reflection. Kaparanos soon blurts phrases like "it's so much better on holiday," "I'm so drunk I don't mind if you kill me," "I'm alive, I'm alive," and "we need the money." The pace never lets up. Even their breakthrough single, "Take Me Out", blatantly changes its mind from Pixies-like pop to squiggly guitar disco a quarter of the way through. Only on "Cheating on You" do the drums drop their high-hat riding for stuttering punk.
Franz Ferdinand rarely stray far from the dueling-guitars-with-occasional-keyboard approach, granting even the bounciest dance floor numbers pleasantly rough edges, but the final two tracks peak with greater arrangement and studio flourish. Flashy flanger-flecked guitar and layered, lachrymose keyboards add an epic air to the tale of confused post-relationship emotions of "Come on Home", while "40 Ft" tiptoes in on spy guitars. Like the overlooked brilliance of Parklife's Side B, the song turns back to triumphant, operatic music spiked with pessimism and noise. Even Damon Albarn's beloved melodica makes an appearance 2\xBD minutes in.
Like all lasting records, Franz Ferdinand steps up to the plate and boldly bangs on the door to stardom. There's no consideration for what trends have just come and gone. There's no waffling or concessions for people who won't get it. As with all great entertainment, it will divide opinion. I honestly couldn't remember Volodrag, The Hold My Coat, Santa Schultz, or the bands in whose reviews they appeared. I'd made that stuff up to amuse myself during boring albums. As I told Ryan, Franz Ferdinand didn't need a concept. We would all remember this one. Like that wizard's cap”.
I am going to round things off with a review from AllMusic. They showed a lot of love and respect for the mighty Franz Ferdinand. I think that the fact quite a few of its songs regularly feature on radio now shows what a respected and enduring album it is. If you have not heard it in a while then spend some time spinning an album that got huge kudos back in 2004. It is considered one of the best albums of that decade:
“While the Darts of Pleasure EP proved that Franz Ferdinand had a way with equally sharp lyrics and hooks, and the "Take Me Out" single took their sound to dramatic new heights, their self-titled debut album offers the most expansive version of their music yet. From the first track, "Jacqueline," which begins with a brooding acoustic prelude before jumping into a violently vibrant celebration of hedonism, Franz Ferdinand is darker and more diverse than the band's previous work suggested. "Auf Ausche" has an unsettling aggression underneath its romantic yearning, its cheap synth strings and pianos underscoring its low-rent moodiness and ruined glamour. And even in the album's context, "Take Me Out" remains unmatched for sheer drama; with its relentless stomp and lyrics like "I'm just a cross hair/I'm just a shot away from you," it's deliciously unclear whether it's about meeting a date or a firing squad. The wonderfully dry wit the band employed on Darts of Pleasure's "Shopping for Blood" and "Van Tango" is used more subtly: the oddly radiant "Matinee" captures romantic escapism via dizzying wordplay. "Michael," meanwhile, is a post-post-punk "John, I'm Only Dancing," by equal turns macho and fey; when Alex Kapranos proclaims "This is what I am/I am a man/So come and dance with me, Michael," it's erotic as well as homoerotic. Love and lust make up a far greater portion of Franz Ferdinand than any of the band's other work; previously, Franz Ferdinand's strong suit was witty aggressiveness, and the shift in focus has mixed results.
There's something a little too manic and unsettled about Franz Ferdinand to make them completely convincing romantics, but "Come On Home" has swooning, anthemic choruses guaranteed to melt even those who hate swooning, anthemic choruses. Fortunately, the album includes enough of their louder, crazier songs to please fans of their EPs. "Darts of Pleasure" remains one of the best expressions of Franz Ferdinand's shabby glamour, campy humor, and sugar-buzz energy, and "Tell Her Tonight," which debuted on the Darts of Pleasure EP, returns in a full-fledged version that's even more slinky, menacing, and danceable than the demo hinted it might be. And if Franz Ferdinand's aim has always been to get people dancing, then "Cheating on You"'s churned-up art punk and close, Merseybeat-like harmonies suggest some combination of slam dancing and the twist that could sweep dancefloors. Despite its slight unevenness, Franz Ferdinand ends up being rewarding in different ways than the band's previous work was, and it's apparent that they're one of the more exciting groups to come out of the garage rock/post-punk revival”.
On 9th February, we celebrate twenty years of Franz Ferdinand. Released through Domino and produced by Tore Johansson and Franz Ferdinand, this 2004 debut does not sound dated or of its time. It is so relevant and fresh still. You can hear the bands who were listening to this album and took inspiration from it. Hardly surprising. So full of masterful songs, I know we will be speaking about Franz Ferdinand and its relevance…
DECADES from now.