Tracks:
Fallen
Do You Want To
This Boy
Walk Away
Evil and a Heathen
You're the Reason I'm Leaving
Eleanor Put Your Boots On
Well That Was Easy
What You Meant
I'm Your Villain
You Could Have It So Much Better
Fade Together
Outsiders

Performer Notes:

Often referred to as Scotland's Interpol, Franz Ferdinand made the scene with a sound that, like its NYC contemporary, owed a huge debt to 1980s post-punk and new wave. That fact, along with the members' snappy outfits and art-school sensibilities, allowed the group to easily slide into a fan-space somewhere between The Strokes and The Rapture. While the Wire influence is still in full effect on the Glasgow quartet's second full-length album, YOU COULD HAVE IT SO MUCH BETTER, there are also big dollops of Beatles, from the throbbing McCartney-esque bass on "The Fallen" to the "Julia"-style vocals on the acoustic ballad "Fade Together." With its clever lyrics and jaunty feel, "Eleanor Put Your Boots On" mines mid-period Kinks territory, while "Walk Away" recalls the clever wordplay and loopy melodies of XTC. Elsewhere, the group refines its melding of frenetic Duran Duran-approved dance rhythms and Duane Eddy-by-way-of-Adam Ant twang guitar, delivering a bracing and high-energy platter of stylish and danceable rock.

Professional Reviews: Rolling Stone (No. 985, p.75) - 3.5 out of 5 stars - "...YOU COULD HAVE IT SO MUCH BETTER shows deeper roots in the first wave of white electric dance music: specifically the crunchy-guitar R&B and arch-garage songwriting of 1965-67 Kinks...."

Spin (p.65) - Ranked #3 in Spin's "40 Best Albums Of 2005" - "Their second disc builds on the kraut-disco of their debut, but frontman Alex Kapranos' dubious sensitivity makes YOU COULD HAVE IT so much better than its predecessor."

Spin (p.132) - "Kapronos' voice is a marvelous wide-eyed sneer....[The album] sounds exactly like what you'd expect, with pumping disco beats and lookin'-sharp guitars on track after propulsive track." - Grade: B+

Entertainment Weekly (No. 844, p.147) - "...[S]hows Franz Ferdinand working harder and sounding bigger, befitting their stature as rock's saviors of the moment...." - Grade B+

Vibe (p.210) - "[It] overflows with danceable beats and catchy hooks."

Mojo (Publisher) (p.58) - Ranked #11 in Mojo's "The 50 Best Albums Of 2005" - "An imperious state-of-the-nation address delivered with ease."

Mojo (Publisher) (p.94) - 4 stars out of 5 - "Musically, the palette has grown without getting out of hand. Lead guitarist Nick McCarthy appears to have an inexhaustible well of singable guitar riffs: pungent, perfunctory, and hardly ever pretty..."

Format: Vinyl (1 Disc); Stereo

Country: USA

Studio/Live: Studio

Release Date: 13 October, 2005

Label: Domino (EP's & Singles) (UK)