You Could Have It So Much Better

the first album was amazing in short, i endlessl listened to the like of Michael, Take me out, matinee etc etc
this however lacks real single-worthy tunes with only Walk Away really grabbing my attention
Hopefully they'll release a much better follow up album

It's 11pm, i'm watching Channel 4 waiting for the premier of the new Franz Ferdinand video. Will it be better than Take Me Out? CAN it be better than Take Me Out? I'm ever so slightly nervous because if this song turns out to be lame, then i'm going to be devestated.

Luckilly, and as we all should know, Do You Want To is a brilliant song, and a wonderful introduction to the album. The Fallen is a killer opening track, mainly lyrically. The guys are punching you round the face with every quick fire sentance, and not letting up till the bitter end.

The album calms it's self down a bit in places, with tracks like Walk Away, and Elanor... But is ready to take advantage of your lowered defences with the sucker punches of Evil and a Heather and Well That Was Easy. Both are wonderfuly catchy and retain what we've come to expect from Franz.

More ambitious than their debut, it certainly pays off. This is a fabulous return for the guys.

I adored FF's first album, but it seems to me the boys have over-stretched themselves this time. Becoming slaves to style, they seem determined to punch out numbers with that signature electric sort of 'stomp', -although 'Do You Want To' is a great track. Finding better moments when the album slows down a bit, particularly Eleanor, Put Your Boots Back On, and although I don't regret buying, this second album cannot compare to their first.

Franz ferdinand's debut album took the world by storm. It had five insanely catchy and brilliant hit singles (darts of pleasure, take me out, the dark of the matinee, michael and this fire), and six more songs that themselves could've been hit singles. They seemed unstoppable.
So the big question was, could they do it again? Anybody who heard the album's first single 'do you want to' immediatly had to say 'damn, they've done it again'. But it's not quite the case. Though this album does have some brilliantly catchy and amazing songs, it's just not quite as memorable as the first.
First the good points - the first songs, and later single, 'the fallen', is brilliant. 'Do you want to' is just far too catchy to be believed. 'Eleanor put your boots on' is the first of two semi-ballads from the band, and it works brilliantly. 'I'm your villian' is just a classic franz song, but an astounding one.
The bad points - although there are no bad songs on this album, there seems to be a lot of 'filler'. And though these songs are good, they're not each as memorable as the last like they were on the first album. Songs like 'this boy', 'evil and heathen', 'you're the reason i'm leaving', 'well that was easy' and 'what you meant' (especially the latter two) seem like big filler songs, and probably are considering they hardly hit the three minute mark.
So, maybe it's not as good as their debut album, but that doesn't stop this album from being a great follow up. And, come on, following a debut that good was always going to be a struggle for any band.