Soundbite

Franz Ferdinand “You Could Have It So Much Better”
Domino Records

Until a month ago, Franz Ferdinand’s sophomore album,
“You Could Have It So Much Better,” was going to be
self-titled like the band’s debut, with the exact same cover
art and a different color scheme. This decision was a wise move, as
fans expecting a direct sequel to last year’s dance-rock
revival will come away surprised. “You Could Have It So Much
Better” shows a side of the band thus far unseen, for better
or worse. And please, don’t worry about this review utilizing
lame, obvious puns based on the album’s title to describe its
quality. Franz Ferdinand’s debut album contained some of the
catchier songs of any rock album released in quite some time,
reaching the rare status of being able to boast that nearly every
track on the album could double as a hit single. Appropriately,
“You Could Have it So Much Better” opens with a trio of
songs that seem to be right off the band’s debut. Considering
how good that album was, this isn’t necessarily bad. The
album’s opener, “The Fallen,” while much harder
than previous Franz Ferdinand songs, still doesn’t seem too
radical a departure, containing trademark bits of attitude
bordering on charming arrogance. “This Boy” is
traditional Franz Ferdinand ““ it is without question the
fastest, most dance-able and catchiest song on the entire album,
with an infectious bass line that rivals the riff from “Take
Me Out.” The first single, “Do You Want To,”
mirrors the first album’s “Michael” with lyrics
such as, “Your famous friend, well I blew him before
you.” The song is cleverly vague as to who blew who when,
leading to a bizarre double meaning that only Franz Ferdinand could
pull off with straight faces. Beginning with “Walk
Away,” however, “You Could Have it So Much
Better” takes a detour and does something previously
unthinkable for the band: It slows down every now and then. Songs
like “Eleanor, Put Your Boots On” and “Fade
Together,” a full-on ballad, pretty much fall flat.
“Eleanor” is notable mostly because it sounds
frighteningly Beatles-like. “Fade Together” seems out
of place, as if the band felt they had to throw in an actual ballad
onto the album, and it reeks of being an afterthought. The fact
that the songwriting is far more generic than one would expect from
the band doesn’t help matters either. At its core, “You
Could Have It So Much Better” is darker in tone than its
predecessor, containing a heap of dismissive “who needs
you?” lyrics. Even the faster, louder songs follow this
theme, especially in tracks like “You’re the Reason
I’m Leaving” and “I’m Your Villain.”
In fact, upon further examination, it’s likely this album
could function as the ultimate subliminal break-up record, with its
blunt and direct song titles and lyrics. The days of making a
vague, hinting mix tape to send a message are over. Just give your
soon-to-be-ex this album and watch them get the picture in less
than 45 minutes. “You Could Have It So Much Better”
contains some well-composed, catchy songs and generally avoids the
dreaded sophomore slump. Yet in the end, the album isn’t as
amusing as its predecessor and is a little too accusatory for one
to sit down and listen to for fun. There is enough substance to the
album to make one wonder what direction they will go with their
next record. Hopefully that direction includes a concept album
about the actual life of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. That’s
about as punk rock as it gets. -Mark Humphrey