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Paul Thompson was originally in Pro Forma, a Scottish trio that released
a four-song EP in 2002, reissued with other rarities as
Pro Forma (Tsk Tsk, 2004). Human Error and Sexual Design
offered electronic dance music with a punk edge, reminiscent of
New Order and
Suicide, that would have sounded amateurish
even 20 years earlier. Thompson went on to form Franz Ferdinand.
And Franz Ferdinand resurrected Scottish pop by harking back to the new wave,
i.e. by adopting and re-contextualizing in Scotland the fad that was overflowing
from New York. The singles Darts Of Pleasure and especially
Take Me Out
were catchy and bouncy enough to justify the "next big thing" of Scot-pop.
The album Franz Ferdinand (Domino, 2004) references
XTC and the
Strokes without sounding too derivative.
Alex Kapranos' melodramatic crooning and Bob Hardy's obsessive bass formed
a positive-feedback loop.
The carefree, exuberant spirit that underlies most of the songs on
You Could Have It So Much Better (Sony, 2005)
might herald the new zeitgeist that is taking hold around the world after
five years of wars. As the world economy keeps booming, there is a feeling
that people are ready to party again.
That is where the importance of Franz Ferdinand begins and ends.
Musically, this explains why they sound like a single-oriented message-less
band that a carefully-orchestrated hype turns into an album-oriented phenomenon.
Basically, this album is about Do You Want To, the band's new hit.
You Could Have It So Much Better harks back to punk-pop,
The Fallen to garage-rock,
etc. There really isn't much to write about these songs.
The self-referential concept album
Tonight (Epic, 2009) is their most ambitious yet
but also the least catchy,
boldest being the eight-minute Lucid Dreams.
None of the disco ditties (that generally emphasize the "disco" element
over the "rock" element) has the marketing power of past singles,
the closest being
Ulysses, Send Him Away, Turn It On and
No You Girls Never Know.
Blood, (Epic, 2009) is a dub remix version of Tonight.
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(Translation by/ Tradotto da Luca Criscuoli)
Paul Thompson originariamente faceva parte dei Pro Forma, trio Scozzese ha realizzato un EP di quattro canzoni, riedito successivamente nel 2002, includendovi altre rarità, come Pro Forma (Tsk Tsk, 2004). Human Error e Sexual Design offrono musica dance elettronica con una punta di punk, richiamando alla mente i New Order e Suicide; brani che avrebbero dato l’impressione di amatoriali anche 20 anni prima. Thompson andò avanti formando i Franz Ferdinand.
E i Franz Ferdinand hanno risuscitato il pop Scozzese richiamandosi alla new wave, adottando e ri-contestualizzando in Scozia la moda che stava traboccando a New York. I singoli Darts Of Pleasure e specialmente Take Me Out erano orecchiabili e sufficientemente vivaci da giustificare la "next big thing" del pop Scozzese. L’album Franz Ferdinand (Domino, 2004) fa riferimento agli XTC e agli Strokes senza sembrare troppo copiato.
Lo spirito spensierato e esuberante che è alla base della maggior parte delle canzoni su You Could Have It So Much Better (Sony, 2005) potrebbe precorrere una nuova "zeitgeist" che sta vericandosi dopo cinque anni di guerre. Essendo l’economia mondiale in via di prosperità, c’è la sensazione che la gente sia pronta a festeggiare di nuovo. Questo rappresenta l’inizio e la fine dell’importanza dei Franz Ferdinand. Musicalmente, questo spiega il perché essi suonino come un gruppo "da singolo", che un lancio pubblicitario accuratamente orchestrato ha trasformato in un fenomeno "da album". Fondamentalmente, questo album riguarda Do You Want To, nuovo successo del gruppo. You Could Have It So Much Better ricorda il punk-pop, The Fallen il garage-rock, etc. Non c’è, in realtà, molto da scrivere su queste canzoni.
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