Franz Ferdinand - 'No You Girls'
A very dear friend of mine can't stand Franz Ferdinand. She's a music fan, goes to more gigs than anyone I know, is constantly jetting off around the world to catch up with her favourite artists and is pretty much single-handedly keeping the indie world solvent, so it's not like she's a philistine. Her problem with Alex and co is that - according to her - they have no heart.
Having attempted to cross-examine her on this point several times, I can fairly confidently explain that it's Franz's arch, art-school scheming which is part of the problem. That and Alex Kapranos's voice, which dances on the border between smug and aloof without ever committing to the kind of wild abandon his lyrics describe.
It's safe to say this song isn't going to do anything to change her mind.
(. That paint is never going to come out of that dress, y'know...)
In recent interviews, Franz have been keen to emphasise how they are moving on from their post-punk disco roots, even claiming that they've dropped the 'scooped hi-hat' from their arsenal of drum effects. For the non-rhythmic, that's the "tsssh" noise on the second and fourth beats of every bar, as used on any funky indie song of the past five years.
Trouble is, they've not changed a whole lot else, and you'd have to be drummer (or an ice-cream man) to notice that the scoops are missing.
In every other respect, this is a very typical Franz Ferdinand song. It's slinky, it's a bit disco, it's a bit guitary, it's anti-macho, but also quite blokey in the chorus. The lyrics point toward sexual politics, and the lack of understanding between boys and girls, but it's not an issue that Alex sounds particularly bothered about.
That camp frostiness only really works when you've got something pretty amazing to say, or you are uncommonly sexy and mysterious and you damn well know it. Franz, for all that they are good-looking fellas, are not enigmatic people. You can see that they are raising a sweat, which destroys the illusion of effortless brilliance. And, as the lyrics are only 60% as clever as they think they are, this just makes them come across as needlessly arrogant. Something which, as people, they clearly are not.
Of course, some of us love them for making that effort, so it's not all bad news. I'd have been happier if this wasn't such an obvious re-tread of 'Take Me Out' though.
Download: Out now
CD Released: 6th April
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Music page
(Fraser McAlpine)
Comment number 1.
At 3rd Apr 2009, katieloum wrote:Spot on review! Its a fairly decent song, but there's nothing new or exciting about it.
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Comment number 2.
At 3rd Apr 2009, spirit wrote:Well this is their best song since TAKE ME OUT ! Its a well crafted pop song.
On the plus side its instantly catchy has about three memorable hooks in the song... and is being used in a well known advertising campaign.. which is where most people will know it. It is currently NUMBER 22 in the charts and will probably break into the top twenty soon as it is "a" listed at RADIO 1 .
On the other side the chorus echoes OH YOU PRETTY THINGS by DAVID BOWIE and I have to agree with FRASERS friend I like my most loved bands to have big big hearts... and they leave me a little cold...
Its still a good pop single on its own merits though !!!
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Comment number 3.
At 4th Apr 2009, maddybel wrote:I don't understand these accusations about lack of heart. As Alex Kapranos has said, it is the tensions in relationships that make them interesting and Franz document these emotions very well, as in Live Alone. Several of their songs are very heartfelt, such as Auf Achse, 40 ft, Eleanor. It is obvious they also care a great deal about cheap moralising attitudes and complacency as shown in The Fallen, This Boy and YCHISMB on their underrated second album. No You Girls cleverly describes the lack of understanding between the sexes and is a very catchy pop song - there's nothing wrong with that! See them live - they put on a great show.
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