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"But I thought that was what was fresh about Franz Ferdinand, the fact that they made reference to these early '80s records. "I didn't get into the post-punk stuff at the time," he says. He admits to having only a sketchy knowledge of the scratchy early-'80s guitar bands like Orange Juice and Josef K that the group list as their main influences. But when Malmo-based producer Tore Johansson was first approached to work with the Scottish quartet, he might have easily been forgiven for thinking their record company had the wrong man. With UK sales of 300,000 and rising, Franz Ferdinand's debut album is the surprise indie-to-mainstream hit of the year, thanks in no small part to their angular guitar-funk single 'Take Me Out' making the top 10 back in February. 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.Cardigans producer Tore Johansson was thrown into unfamiliar musical territory when asked to produce the debut album by Scottish guitar band Franz Ferdinand, but the result was a commercial and artistic triumph. 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.
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"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.
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Fortunately, the album includes enough of their louder, crazier songs to please fans of their EPs. 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. 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. "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. 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. 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. "Auf Ausche" has an unsettling aggression underneath its romantic yearning, its cheap synth strings and pianos underscoring its low-rent moodiness and ruined glamour. 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.
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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.