Categories : Featured Review, Music Reviews, Rock + Pop.
 |
Rating: 4/5 Released: October 4, 2005 Reviewer: Connor Turner |
If Franz Ferdinand lacks one thing, it’s modesty. Not that they suffer from an inflated ego, a la Kanye West, a reported big fan of FF. From all accounts these four Scots have been humble and playful with their recent success. The fact of the matter is – Franz Ferdinand is an unbelievable band, they know it, and want to flaunt it for you. With You Could Have It So Much Better, FF has released an audacious record, which oozes with a swagger that dwarfs their debut.
The Scots have always had a certain natural swarm. Whether it was Mr. sex-symbol himself Sean Connery parading around with chest-hair only a Wookie could love; all the way to their medieval rampaging through Britannia in skirts and blue make-up. It is this attitude that is at the heart of You Could Have It, engulfing ever misleading beat of the record. Case in point – moments into the lead single Do You Want To, Alex Kapranos boldly declares, “I’m gonna make somebody love me.†From that moment on, you are once again mesmerized by their mixture of art-house dance, tongue-in-cheek sarcasm and bravado. The album ranges from flirtations with psycho-billy (Evil and a Heathen), to an homage to early Blur (What You Meant), all the way back to another round of homoerotic fantasy (Do You Want to).
Eventually Franz Ferdinand are at their best when they are waltzing you in one direction, only to swing you into another. With this record it is not a matter of you could, but rather you will. Believe the hype for this follow up, as it’ll top many lists in December.
