“This Fffire” – Franz Ferdinand
(Words/music: Alex Kapranos and Nick McCarthy, available on Franz Ferdinand (Bonus Disc), Epic 2004)
Earlier today while in the car, I heard one of the recent Franz Ferdinand singles and for a split second thought it was a Doors song. Admittedly, I was channel surfing and didn’t know what station I had on (and was a little tired too), but it was the first time I noticed a similarity between Alex Kapranos and Jim Morrison’s voices. Leaving all sonic similarities aside for a moment, it’s a perfect comparision for me because I’ve found both bands to be “sometimes” bands. I find that many times I skip right past both in my library yet sometimes, and usually never by personal request, it hits the spot perfectly. I’ve never been able to associate either band with a particular mood, yet there are times when I welcome a Franz Ferdinand track on my iPod (or “L.A. Woman” on the radio, but that’s another story).
“This Fffire” is usually the culprit – it’s not too different than the properly spelled track from Franz Ferdinand’s debut album, but with its slightly glossier mix, it captures the things I liked about the band when I first heard them. I’m a sucker for a song that gradually builds to a climax, and while Kapranos and company aren’t tension-and-release innovators, I like how the verses feel subdued and quickly explode into the chorus. The jagged guitar riff and opening hi-hats were everywhere five years ago (and perhaps the reason I’ve cooled on the band more recently) but the band use them both well here, making one of the finest dance-punk songs never burdened with the label. Even if I don’t find myself taking the album off of my shelf anymore, this is one of the songs that reminds me why I cared about this band in the first place.
More on Franz Ferdinand: Allmusic | Amazon MP3 | Emusic | Last.fm
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