Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand (2004)
This is the album that really kicked it off for me. I had a few other individual songs I'd heard in video game soundtracks that I liked, but hearing "Take Me Out" for the first time (I think from my cousins playing SingStar), the band really grabbed me like no others had, further cemented by "Michael" appearing in Gran Turismo 4, and "This Fire" in Burnout 3, the band quickly became my first real music obsession. When I picked up bass guitar later on, my first big goal was learning the entire album note-for-note. I was too young to go see them play when they toured here in 2006, and didn't get around to seeing them live until their 2025 tour for The Human Fear. I really think it's the dance grooves that really hooked me the most, in songs like "Take Me Out", "The Dark of the Matinee", and "Auf Achse", the very disco-styled drumming of Paul Thomson also got me to start learning drums in my early highschool years. The angular punky guitars eventually led me to love the bands that inspired them from the late 70s and early 80s post-punk movement. Honestly, my favourite album of theirs would be their third, Tonight, which I may talk about in future, but their debut is undeniably one of their strongest. "Jacqueline" and "40'" being my top picks, as they also serve as the perfect opening and closing tracks to the album. This is the 2024 20th anniversary "orange and black swirl" edition which I cheekily "upgraded" from an older regular black-vinyl version.
