Hits To The Head. Franz Ferdinand

In 2004-05 there was not a single issue of WoNo Magazine without a reference to Franz Ferdinand, the Glaswegian postpunkfunk band that really got to me in these two years. Albums, singles, b-sides and finally a show in the, then beer hall, in Amsterdam South-East. 18 years later the band releases its first compilation album. So how does Franz Ferdinand fare in 2022?

For one, I hardly ever play the band's records any more. The only song that comes by spontaneously, like on the radio or something, is 'Take Me Out'. And even that not often. In that sense the band never broke big in my country, which is weird. For the simple reason that the band made five more than decent albums in the past 18 years. They all delivered on consistency and quality. The only odd one out, is 'FFS' with Sparks. It also is no part of Hits To The Head. The second observation is that none of the band's singles charted in the Top 40, my country's oldest chart (A.D. 1965). Not one single single. Which is weird as well, as the band has a consistent level of singles through the years. The albums were all top 20 (2), some even top 10 (3).

What stands out on the album immediately, is the artwork. A clear call to the band's start. The cover is a mix of 'Franz Ferdinand' (2004) and 'You Could Have It So Much Better' (2005). It brings to mind the band's love for Russian art of the first half of the 20th century. Musically the momentum tilts towards the first two albums too, with nine songs out of twenty. What also stands out, like a sore thumb as far as I'm concerned, is the omission of one of its greatest songs: 'Bullet' from the album 'Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action'. That is a true omission, as the song is so much better than some of the singles that are on Hits To The Head.

The band has not managed to remain intact as well. Only Alex Kapranos and Bob Hardy are still members from the beginning. Guitarist/keyboardist Nick McCarthy left in 2016 before work started on 'Always Ascending'. Drummer Paul Thompson left in 2021. Of course, it is fairly unique when a band remains in the same line up for decades, on the other hand it is a sign that not all is well. Now a five piece, the band is releasing a compilation album and not a new one, despite Hits To The Head containing two new songs, 'Billy Goodbye' and 'Curious', that have come by in the singles overview of the past few months. To summarise, the former is a good addition to the oeuvre of Franz Ferdinand, the latter a so so left over. 'Always Ascending' is from the winter of 2018, so four year old. There should have been a new album. On the other hand a compilation could breathe new life into the band of course.

As far as I'm concerned, I will not buy Hits To The Head. Not for the two songs added to it. I have all the albums and a whole stack of cd singles and a few 7"s as well and not playing them anymore. So, I turned to Spotify to listen to the compilation and got cheered up and warmed immediately. From the moment I heard 'Darts Of Pleasure' the band's first single and the only one I had missed at the time, as I'm on board since 'Take Me Out', as most of the world, I guess, I was back on board with Franz Ferdinand. The song remains so good, so full of energy, so danceable, so listenable, so intelligent and so much fun all in one. A standard of quality the band kept as its benchmark. A mix where artrock, punkfunk and disco meet in the most perfect of ways.

In 2004 there all of a sudden was a host of bands put in the same punkfunk basket, with comparisons to a host of bands from the early 1980s that served as inspiration. Not one, young and old, came close to Franz Ferdinand though. The band was on a plane of its own. Highly elevated above everything and everybody. Until Arctic Monkeys came along, incomparable but so more powerful even. Where the class of 2004 was concerned, one band did come close, Dogs Die in Hot Cars. Also from Glasgow the band kept a level of music up for the first seven songs of its debut album, and final album, Please Describe Yourself, that was Franz Ferdinand worthy. Franz Ferdinand was the band that remained, though never on the level of its first two albums. The big breakthrough remained an illusion, and I wonder why?

Not that I have an answer. Listening to the singles, with minor exceptions I hear one great song after another. Too difficult for most people? Too much of a mix to appeal to the fans of the individual components? Too arty? Let me know what you think, if you like. What I hear is party time music as well as ear candy.

If Hits To The Head does anything, it is making me want to play my CDs/LP of the band once again. As they have been gathering dust for far too long. "Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action", if one title sums up the band's music its this one. It says it all, in fact.

Wout de Natris