Y - you could have it so much better, franz ferdinand (2005)

...and so my penchant for glaswegian music rears its beautifully-accented head once again. i readily admit that this is kind of cheating because the idea of the blog was to branch out from my favourite albums... and this is one of my favourite albums of all time, right up there on my desert island list (i will, one day, get around to blogging said list.)

rewind back two years to summer 08/09, and you would have found me roadtripping with friends around the east coast, maximising the glorious new zealand summer and soaking up as many bands as we could... given the summer i've just had, it seems nothing much changes. during that beautiful summer two years ago, we listened to this album religiously, and indeed saw franz ferdinand live - a total delicious treat. they were a beautifully tight performance, utter professionals, and played a dream set including plenty from this album. they remain one of the best live acts i've seen.

summertime rolls: summer 08/09

we all know second albums carry intense pressure, especially after such a monumental first album as 2004's self-titled effort. in my opinion, though, "you could have it so much better" is by far the best of franz ferdinand's albums - i own all three current releases and see (with much glee) that a fourth is due to be released this year. just as their tight professionalism took them to a new level as a live act, of all of the brit-pop / indie-rock bands floating round, to me their hard work and obvious intelligence takes franz to a new level as recorded artists as well. i particularly love the cheeky political reference to tony blair and gordon brown's relationship in 'you're the reason i'm leaving' ("i've no idea / that in four years / i'd be hanging from a beam / behind the door of number ten / singin' well, fare thee well / i am leaving, yes i leave it all to you...") -- not just a break up song, kids. 

this is pop-rock, but it's intelligent pop-rock, and more importantly it's interesting enough that even after hundreds if not thousands of listens, i have never once got bored with this album. it takes the excellent franz sound that we all came to know and love, and develops and matures it. (2009's subsequent release "tonight: franz ferdinand" took the development further, and i'll be intrigued to see whether they push on or strip their sound back with this year's album. the 2009 album left it open to go either way in my opinion, but personally i'm hoping for something a little more deconstructed this year.) this is a perfect follow up album: the production quality is higher, it's lyrically richer, and there's a diversity and intelligence to the songs that really grabs me.

it's lively and interesting, it's loud, it's smart, and it's perfect for a sunny morning. utterly brilliant.