OH OH OH, drunk British girls of the world (i know, euphemism, ah ah ah etc) unite!

TAKE ME OUT! 

I really didn't want to like this album. In a few years Franz Ferdinand songs will be used in commercials and football programs all around the world. In fact some songs on Franz Ferdinand's debut album remind me of Robert Palmer's "Johnny & Mary," which will make you think of Renault cars next time you hear it. But i guess that's not the point. This is really good pop. Sure they've been through all the british 80s catalogue, they know their Fall from their Blondie and own all the rough trade compilations, but, and i'll be damned, it works.

One of the many appreciable things about the band is its catchy youthfully mean lines. It's all about being drunk and lazy and getting rid of girlfriends, only to find another one to get rid of. Ah, reminds me of my sweet sixteen. Songs are catchy yet smart and complex, driven by disco beats, sometimes post-punk sometimes more helplessy disco. Franz Ferdinand sound terribly refreshing. Like Interpol fronted by Carlos Dengler (oh my god), or fun, mass-friendly and pretension-free Rapture. 

People keep on talking about the Strokes when reviewing this album but I think Hot Hot Heat would be a better point of comparison. Both bands share some really cheesy instrumentations, pop guitars, catchy hooks and they turn blurry-eyed girls into cider-fueled sex machines. Guys should be grateful, but they tend to dismiss danceable pop (ie: Pulp) for being "girl music." I can't blame them for being right, but what they haven't realised yet in the dusk of their teenagehood, is that this music greatly increases their chances of getting laid. It's party music, bound to drown the old generation of tomorrow into nostalgia with stories of drunk sex, dubious cheating, tearful break ups and blissful makeouts. 

These kids are alive. 

-Barbara H

/mar 1st 2004/