You Could Have It So Much Better

Simply great.

They've gotten unmistakably louder and unmistakably gayer--or perhaps I mean, hate the term, more metrosexual.

It's a stunning, confident piece of work that suggests the band is merely getting started.

The trend for disappointing follow-ups bucked with enviable panache, You Could Have It So Much Better leaves you eager, rather than concerned, about Franz Ferdinand's next album.

Their first album was one of the strongest debuts in recent memory and this is an equally impressive follow-up.

An album which radically extends the Franz musical palette.

Far more than a sequel. [3 Oct 2005]

Despite the quick gestation, it's actually better than the successful debut - a rare enough occurrence - and the direction in which they've pushed things is equally surprising.

At the end of the day this is a bit more of a grower than the last one, but is easily as good.

You Could Have... doesn't take you on the journey of highs and lows that the very greatest albums do. Its Greatest Hits feel is both its major strength and its major weakness. [Oct 2005, p.108]

A brilliant second album unembarrassed about building on the strengths of the first, delivering 13 knockout tunes betraying not an ounce of flab or self-indulgence. [Nov 2005, p.94]

Franz Ferdinand have slightly tweaked the neo-Brit-pop genre – mixing in funk, dashes of punk, and a bit of disco – and come out with a sophomore album even more confident and hungry for glory than their debut.

The trick is to cede the idea that Franz Ferdinand are meant to deliver the cohesive, moving, traditional Statement Albums their debut may have misled listeners to expect. Some people-- earnest people, like Bloc Party, Sufjan Stevens, and the Arcade Fire-- will go on trying to fill that niche. Franz Ferdinand, though, aren't going to do that, and good on them: We can only hope they'll go on offering us cheeky, energetic surprises.

What's remarkable is how Franz Ferdinand make their camp so compelling. [14 Oct 2005, p.147]

Sounds exactly like what you'd expect. [Oct 2005, p.132]

It'll do just fine for now. But here's hoping for a torturously difficult third album. [Oct 2005, p.140]

The album is just as solid as Franz Ferdinand’s 2004 eponymous debut, and it shows that the group clearly knows its sound -- maybe a little too well.

As strong as this record is, there's a way to go to make good on the promise of its title. [Nov 2005, p.92]

At its best when working under the three-minute mark, the Scottish four-piece still has nothing relevant to say, but has managed to serve up a tighter collection than its crazily hyped debut.

The band's evolution is not without growing pains, but the balancing act of appealing to core fans while reaching for something more is mostly successful. [8 Oct 2005]

By bringing more variety to the table, You Could Have It So Much Better is more of a grower than the much more instantly engaging debut, but like that great first album, the easygoing charisma of this band wins us over.

You Could Have It So Much Better might as well be titled You Could Have It Just As Good A Year Later, since Franz Ferdinand seem to belong to the school of "if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it."

Starts off strong and rarely wavers, for better and worse.

The problem with You Could Have It So Much Better is, as with so many second albums, consistency.

An album that works best when listened to as a whole. [#11, p.107]

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.