Franz Ferdinand were one of the best bands to make it big during the post-Strokes Indie rock revolution of the early 2000s (i.e., now). They had all the right ingredients: tight, catchy songs with angular guitars vaguely funky rhythms, just the right combination of punk, dance, and pop influences, and a hipper-than-hip aesthetic that combined everything that was cool between 1975 and last month. As a result, their debut album garnered a heap of critical praise and great sales. And they say that good music doesn't get any recognition these days. Here's the thing: Franz Ferdinand, although it may be derivative, and not exactly 100% perfect, is still a fantastic album. One of the shining lights of the past seven years, as a matter of fact. It isn't just that the songs are catchy or smart or ridiculously exciting (even though they are certainly all of those things)- it's that they breathe new life into the whole grimy, post-grunge, post-90s, post-O.K. Computer, post-everything rut that the mainstream had been stuck in. Just listen to "The Dark Of The Matinee," the way it combines a lush, seductive vocal with a stomping, just-plain-raucous rhythm and elastic guitars. Listen to "Jacqueline," to its slashing, apocalyptic guitar chords and hedonistic lyrics. Listen to the tightly meshed melodies and shape-shifting stomp of "Take Me Out." And then there's the spastic cool of "Darts of Pleasure," and the gorgeously erotic "Michael." "This Fire" is an offbeat anthem. As I said before, it isn't perfect. There aren't any truly bad songs, but after a while the album's formula does get a bit thin- it's hard to listen to this music for a full forty minutes without starting to feel like every song sounds like a slight variation on the one before it. That's not always a bad thing, but it does mean that the album tends to drag a bit in its last half, in spite of some truly inspired performances. Fans of alt-rock after Nirvana should love this.
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