You Could Have It So Much Better

Opting not to fix what broke them, You Could Have It So Much Better serves up more of the stylish, angular sound that worked so well on Franz Ferdinand's debut. After years of rehearsing in abandoned Glasgow warehouses and playing in relatively obscure groups like the Yummy Fur, it's perfectly understandable why the band chose not to mess with a good thing -- and why they chose to follow up the breakthrough success of Franz Ferdinand so quickly. But, after a year and a half of near-instant acclaim and constant touring, Franz Ferdinand return with songs that just aren't as consistently good as the album that made them so successful in the first place. A lot of You Could Have It So Much Better feels like a super-stylized caricature of the band's sound, with exaggeratedly spiky guitars, brooding crooning, and punky-yet-danceable beats. This isn't an entirely bad thing: "The Fallen" begins the album with a wicked, gleeful welcome back that embraces the jaunty mischief running through most of Franz Ferdinand's best moments, while "I'm Your Villain" effortlessly nails the darkly sexy vibe they strived for on Franz Ferdinand. Meanwhile, the famous friends, arty parties, and "shocking" homoeroticism of "Do You Want To" -- which feels more like a victory lap than a comeback single -- play like knowing, tongue-in-cheek self-parody. However, too many tracks on You Could Have It So Much Better are witty and energetic in the moment but aren't especially memorable. "You're the Reason I'm Leaving," "What You Meant," "This Boy," and the oddly anti-climactic finale, "Outsiders," are Franz-lite -- not at all bad, but not as good as even their early B-sides and certainly not up to the level of "Take Me Out." What helps save the album from being completely predictable are slower moments like the pretty, jangly "Walk Away" and atmospheric, piano-driven songs such as "Fade Together" (which really should've been the final track). Best of all is "Eleanor Put Your Boots On," a gorgeous, Beatlesque ballad that suggests that if Franz Ferdinand have songs this good in them, they're selling themselves, and their fans, short with most of the songs here (you could have it so much better, indeed). Not so much a sophomore slump as a rushed follow-up, You Could Have It So Much Better probably would've been better if Franz Ferdinand had waited until they had a batch of songs as consistent as their first album, but as it stands, it's still pretty good. ~ Heather Phares

やっぱりタダ者じゃなかった。本国でのデビューから1年半という短い間隔が彼らの創造欲と熱意を示しているとおり、 敏腕リッチ・コスティとの共同プロデュースによって全側面でスケールアップした2作目。とにかくライヴ感が大幅に増し、テンション漲る恐ろしく鮮明な音が迫りくる。そして、引き続きキャッチーなフランツ流〈踊れるロック〉を基本にしつつも、アコギやピアノを使った60年代ポップ調の楽曲群を違和感なく織り込み、メロウな表情も披露。そんなサウンドの多様化に伴って感情表現の幅も広がり、相変わらず興味深いキャラが各曲を彩るが、アレックス・カプラノスの等身大の想いも以前より強調されている。それがもっとも顕著なのが、〈努力すればもっと多くを得られる〉と挑戦的に訴えて、バンドの姿勢を総括する表題曲。そう、斜に構えたインテリ集団ではなく理想主義に燃える情熱家という素顔を、本作は突き付けている。
bounce (C)新谷 洋子