Franz Ferdinand, You Could Have It So Much Better (Domino, 2005)

Franz Ferdinand are confident. They boast that you could have it so much better with them than some other ear trash bands out there. Telling the truth? Or all swagger? Eh, a healthy dollop from column A and a teensy smidge from column B.

If you check out FF’s website, the bio page reveals that the modus operandi of this outfit is to make girls dance. With the follow-up to their outstanding self-titled debut, they’ve succeeded in the making the girls dance part, and for something new, they’ve also managed to get the girls all moony-eyed and wistful with tracks like the Beatle-y “Eleanor Put Your Boots On” and “Fade Together” plus “Walk Away.” “Eleanor…” apparently is about Eleanor from The Fiery Furnaces. I didn’t know frontman Alex K. and Eleanor are/were involved. Well, that just goes to show I’m not hip on my rock band gossip.

The weakness here is that some of the songs aren’t likely to be caramelized into your brain, sweet and getting stuck in the head. Not quite. There’s the forgettable “This Boy” and “Evil and a Heather.” One of my faves is “I’m Your Villain” with the boys doing their best Interpol impression with the thundering groovy bassline. Don’t fret, Alex still croons and dabbles with the man love (infectious first single “Do You Want To”). The bottom line is that You Could Have It So Much Better is somewhat slumpy, but by no means a bad buy. Now all I have to do is see Franz Ferdinand live and then I will be happy.

– by Lisa Hwang