#138: Franz Ferdinand

Ranking The “250 Greatest Albums of the 21st Century So Far” (2025)

The album artwork is top notch

In 2025, Rolling Stone released their list of “250 Greatest Albums of the 21st Century So Far.” I am working my way though the list, from #250 to #1, reviewing each. It’s a fascinating opportunity to revisit old favourites, and maybe discover new ones.

Franz Ferdinand, 2004

“Take Me Out” is one of the peak songs of the 21^st century, capturing the dance-rock trend with an amazing guitar riff and three distinct parts. For this, Franz Ferdinand deserves to be known for all time. The rest of their debut album is… okay. I remember having this cd a listening to it often but 22 years after its release I find myself thinking that it comes up short, except for “Take Me Out.” And then I am listening to the other songs either wishing it was “Take Me Out” or waiting for “Take Me Out” to come on.

Maybe I’m being too harsh toward Franz Ferdinand. When a band has such a great song and it’s a huge hit, it’s difficult for them to break away from that expectation. It was still a big album when it came out, with several other singles from the album: “Darts of Pleasure,” ‘The Dark of the Matinée,” “Michael,” and “This Fire.” Other tracks of note are “Auf Achse” and “Tell Her Tonight.” It’s all pretty good mid-2000s dance-rock indie pop. It’s very much in line with The Killers, Arctic Monkeys, The Hives, The Libertines, Kaiser Chiefs, and Bloc Party. While “Take Me Out” stands above most of the singles from these bands, the album settles around the middle, with the rest of the tracks sounding very similar. Comparing them to Arctic Monkeys is a little unfair, as they are an exceptional, enduring example; but beyond this album, I am not familiar with any other Franz Ferdinand albums or tracks.

I listened to this one a lot over the last couple of weeks, as sometimes an album that I’m tepid toward at first will grow on me and it will break through - I will understand the appeal. It didn’t happen this time, as I enjoyed the album but to me it wasn’t a better album than Rilo Kiley’s More Adventurous, which occupies the spot immediately prior to it, nor an album like St. Vincent, which is #206 on the list. I would feel better about Franz Ferdinand if it were swapped with St. Vincent: while it’s a great album, #138 seems to overvalue it compared to the other albums that are below it.