The original Franz Ferdinand wasn’t a Glasgow rocker with an attitude. Rather he was an Austrian archduke, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, whose assassination in 1914 triggered the outbreak of World War I and changed the world. Franz Ferdinand, the indie-rock band, however, aims for world impact of another sort: since their 2001 debut, they’ve made music “that girls can dance to”. Indeed, their brand of post-punk, garage rock and stomping new wave is an open invitation to shake your booty (“This Boy” and “Outsiders”). Influenced by the 1960s Kinks and Beatles, David Bowie circa Boys Keep Swinging, 1980s rock and new-wave acts like XTC (despite their denial), the band features scratchy guitars, percussive sounds and jerking techno beats. Their lyrics are intentionally cryptic, many of which have a double meaning (“The Fallen”). So cryptic, that the lyrics have to be explained to the band members before they play the music. This release, even tastier than the debut Franz Ferdinand, might not change the rock world but it’s a chart-topping good-humored album with better things to come: Franz promise to record an even greater third album after their massive 2006 world tour. Domino

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
February 2006 issue



Guanzhou Chief editor: Christopher Cottrell
February 2006 issue