Franz Ferdinand released self-titled debut

Franz Ferdinand Franz Ferdinand

Released: February 9, 2004 Peak: 32 US, 3 UK, 12 AU Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, 1.29 UK, 3.29 world (includes US and UK) Genre: post punk revival

Tracks: Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to charts. Jacqueline (Hardy, Kapranos, McCarthy) [3:49] Tell Her Tonight [2:17] Take Me Out [3:57] (1/12/04, 66 US, 32 RR, 3 MR, 3 UK, 7 CN, 25 AU) The Dark of the Matinee (Hardy, Kapranos, McCarthy) [4:03] (4/19/04, 8 UK) Auf Achse [4:19] Cheating on You [2:36] This Fire [4:14] (10/30/04, 17 MR, 62 AU) Darts of Pleasure [2:59] (9/8/03, 44 UK) Michael [3:21] (8/16/04, 17 UK) Come on Home [3:46] 40” [3:24] Songs written by Kapranos and McCarthy unless noted otherwise. Total Running Time: 38:49 The Players: Alex Kapranos (vocals, guitar) Nick McCarthy (guitar, keyboards, vocals) Bob Hardy (bass, backing vocals) Paul Thomson (drums, percussion, backing vocals)

Rating: 4.236 out of 5.00 (average of 30 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: “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.” AMG “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.” AMG “Auf Ausche has an unsettling aggression underneath its romantic yearning, its cheap synth strings and pianos underscoring its low-rent moodiness and ruined glamour.” AMG “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.” AMG “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.” AMG “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.” AMG “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.” AMG “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.” AMG “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.” AMG “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.” AMG “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.” AMG

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Franz Ferdinand Heather Phares, All Music Guide review by Heather Phares WK Wikipedia First posted 3/29/2008; last updated 3/5/2024.

 

Franz Ferdinand charted with “Take Me Out”

Take Me Out Franz Ferdinand

Writer(s): Alex Kapranos/Nicholas McCarthy (see lyrics here) Released: January 12, 2004 First Charted: January 31, 2004 Peak: 66 US, 32 RR, 3 MR, 3 UK, 7 CN, 25 AU, 3 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.1 US, 1.2 UK, 2.32 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 0.2 radio, 220.44 video, 834.45 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: The grunge that ruled the ‘90s gave way to the “retro garage-punk [that] emerged as the predominant strain of post-millennial rock music in 2001.” PF American bands like The Strokes and The White Stripes were leading the way, leaving “Britain’s indie aristocracy looking bloated, boring, and irreversibly out-dated.” SY However, this was more serious-minded music, making one thing clear: “rockers forgot how to dance.” PD “Aspiring buzz bands realized that, down on the disco floor, they could really make their profits” PF and “with one song the Empire struck back.” SY Franz Ferdinand “brought the groove back to indie rock” PD by unapologetically “co-opting the styles of Talking Heads and Gang of Four for their trademark brittle, arty sound.” TB “‘Take Me Out’ crams every known Britpop trick into its fevered four minutes.” SY These Scottish rockers “took a certain strain of cooler-than-thou, spiky post-punk,” MX gave it a dose of “Beatlesque fluency,” SY “and gave us permission to dance to it.” MX It is “effortlessly arty and deliciously fun, at the same time.” NME’09 The song “a crowdpleaser that doesn’t sound out of place blasting during half-time at an NBA game.” PE but is still “a smash hit that was still cool for the indie kids to love.” PE It may be “the most surefire winner any DJ can have in his repertoire.” NME’09 “After a tense build-up…‘Take Me Out’ sounds ready to blast off; instead, Franz pull an aesthetic 180 and slow it down into a militaristic, libidinous funk stomp.” PF “This mod guitar stomp rules any bar where the girls feel like dancing,” RS’09 but is “still heavy enough to lure in those girls’ jock boyfriends.” PF It “remains one of the most satisfying moments in guitar-pop this decade has produced.” DS Lead singer “Alex Kapranos’ arch delivery and the song’s ambiguous meaning (was it about being taken out like a date, or about being taken out, like…killed?)” PD gave the song an added curiosity factor. In addition, “the innovative accompanying video won MTV’s Breakthrough Video of the Year and the Q Awards’ Video of the Year.” AB’00 He said, “This song is about the tensions between two people, in a sexual sense. That situation where two people are in love with each other but neither will admit it, as if they’d take rejection over acceptance just to end the tension in the situation.” DT Resources: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Franz Ferdinand AB’00 About.com (2009) “Top 100 Pop Songs of the 2000s” MX Atlanta Metromix (11/24/09) Best songs of the decade NME NME.com (11/11/09). 100 Tracks of the Decade PF Pitchfork.com (8/19/09) The Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s PD PopDose.com (11/24/09) The Best Songs of the Decade PE PopEater.com (11/24/09) The Top Pop Songs of the Decade – 2000s RS’09 Rolling Stone (12/9/09). “Songs of the Decade” (12/9/09). SY Stylus (2009?) Top Singles DT Dave Thompson (2011). 1000 Songs That Rock Your World. Krause Publications: Iola, WI. Page 284. TB Thunder Bay Press (2006). Singles: Six Decades of Hot Hits & Classic Cuts. Outline Press Ltd.: San Diego, CA. Page 308. Related Links: Last updated 4/30/2024.