Franz Ferdinand
They're Good, but Let's Not Start Any Wars Over Them
Well, in a new section of the page, I look at music and decide whether it's any good, for the benefit of you, the reader. I will call it "My Opinion on Music". Or "Reviews". Yeah, that one.
Well, Franz Fedinand (or "The 'Nand" as I haven't christened them) are a Scottish indie type outfit. That doesn't do them justice - "Indie" is used far too loosely nowadays to have any real meaning. In this instance, let's take it to mean that they are progressive and slightly non-conformist.
What's their sound like?
I'll tell you. They owe a big debt to Tom Verlaine and Television. That kind of skewed funkiness cut through with some melodious guitar work and bass lines. Then, in other instances, lead singer Alex Kapranos sounds like a more coquetteish Ian Curtis. Either way, the mix spells funky and the music spells good.
There's flashes of Iggy Pop's The Idiot in the density of some of the tracks, flashes of The Pixies in the pop-artful approach to lyrics. Bizzarely, some parts of the album also recall Blondie at their Parallel-Lines zenith. You work it out. I can't be bothered.
I've read and heard comparisons to "The 'Werk" (Kraftwerk). This is pretty crass on the surface - there's snatches of German on some tracks, which is probably the main reason for the comparisons. However, having said that, there is an undercurrent of a peculiarly teutonic baroque. Difficult to pin down, but themes like darkened cinemas and dancing with men called Michael conjure a particularly Weimar atmosphere, in my mind at least.
So we've established that their influences are a smorgasbord of left-field artists. But what is the driver that make The Nand stand out?
Well there are moments of adreneline pumping brilliance. The type that makes you want to go out and have a fight or run really fast, like all the best music does. The opener "Jacqueline" is a multi-layered romp which displays a joy for words and sound which is refreshing. It's slightly self-consciously skewed - it's not full-on absurdity, but has kind of taken a toffee hammer and tapped the norm hard enough to make it less normal. Rhyming "spectacles" with "erecticles" is one such example. The barnstorming chorus, which extols the virtues of holidaying is another.
A well rounded debut, all in all, but as a friend said to me after the Stroke's first album - "Where do they go from here?". They might have just painted themselves into a corner by releasing something so polished so soon. Time will tell, but until that time tells, don't go assassinating any Archdukes.
Well, in a new section of the page, I look at music and decide whether it's any good, for the benefit of you, the reader. I will call it "My Opinion on Music". Or "Reviews". Yeah, that one.
Well, Franz Fedinand (or "The 'Nand" as I haven't christened them) are a Scottish indie type outfit. That doesn't do them justice - "Indie" is used far too loosely nowadays to have any real meaning. In this instance, let's take it to mean that they are progressive and slightly non-conformist.
What's their sound like?
I'll tell you. They owe a big debt to Tom Verlaine and Television. That kind of skewed funkiness cut through with some melodious guitar work and bass lines. Then, in other instances, lead singer Alex Kapranos sounds like a more coquetteish Ian Curtis. Either way, the mix spells funky and the music spells good.
There's flashes of Iggy Pop's The Idiot in the density of some of the tracks, flashes of The Pixies in the pop-artful approach to lyrics. Bizzarely, some parts of the album also recall Blondie at their Parallel-Lines zenith. You work it out. I can't be bothered.
I've read and heard comparisons to "The 'Werk" (Kraftwerk). This is pretty crass on the surface - there's snatches of German on some tracks, which is probably the main reason for the comparisons. However, having said that, there is an undercurrent of a peculiarly teutonic baroque. Difficult to pin down, but themes like darkened cinemas and dancing with men called Michael conjure a particularly Weimar atmosphere, in my mind at least.
So we've established that their influences are a smorgasbord of left-field artists. But what is the driver that make The Nand stand out?
Well there are moments of adreneline pumping brilliance. The type that makes you want to go out and have a fight or run really fast, like all the best music does. The opener "Jacqueline" is a multi-layered romp which displays a joy for words and sound which is refreshing. It's slightly self-consciously skewed - it's not full-on absurdity, but has kind of taken a toffee hammer and tapped the norm hard enough to make it less normal. Rhyming "spectacles" with "erecticles" is one such example. The barnstorming chorus, which extols the virtues of holidaying is another.
A well rounded debut, all in all, but as a friend said to me after the Stroke's first album - "Where do they go from here?". They might have just painted themselves into a corner by releasing something so polished so soon. Time will tell, but until that time tells, don't go assassinating any Archdukes.
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