ALBUM REVIEW - Franz Ferdinand (Domino)

I almost didn’t bother with this CD because I mixed the band’s name up with Rio Ferdinand. I just thought: “Typical! He gets booted out of Manchester united for taking drugs and then some clown sticks a microphone in his hand.”
Now that I’ve established my credentials as a complete idiot, let’s talk about the album.



I was a bit of a fan of this band without even knowing it. A couple of X-FM CDs featured tracks by them (Darts of Pleasure and Take Me Out) and I played them to death in Iraq without bothering to find out more about them. So it was great when I actually played the CD and found these tracks waiting for me like old friends. This is energetic, thumping music, with some great guitar playing. I’d like to say that it’s ground breaking, or that it’s the future of British music (as so many other critics have done) but I can’t. At times during the CD the band sound more like Big Country than I’m comfortable with, and I’ve wondered more than once whether they’re just a bit naff. Perhaps it’s just the Scottish connection, but I can’t help but wonder if I wouldn’t have been better off listening to The Damned..
Having said that, there’s a lyrical quality here that is a real joy. I don’t hold a lot of store by lyrics normally. (If you want poetry you should buy a book.) But there’s a balance here that manages to combine good old fashioned blur-esque brit/punk pop with the sort of clever commentry that you’d expect from Morrissey or The Divine Comedy.
This is a short (under 40 minutes) CD, with plenty of little gems on it. I’ve played it a lot more than most of my others this month, and it's still in the walkman now. Whether I’m still playing it in six months time remains to be seen.

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