Franz Ferdinand

Critiquing Franz Ferdinand is a lot like critiquing Junior Senior or the Ting Tings: What’s the point? As long as the girls can shimmy and shake to it and the guys can follow right behind, it’s a smashing success. Anyone who dug on FF’s first two albums would have a hard time making a case against Tonight: Franz Ferdinand. The group’s third album, including the single “No You Girls,” is strict dance-floor lightning. When they veer from the formula (as on the folky ballad “Katherine Kiss Me”), you can almost see the crowd taking an en masse bathroom break. The good news is that Franz knows a hundred ways to slice the disco-beat pie, penning taut and economical tunes with indefatigable bass lines and silly choruses. If you’re not having fun at a Franz Ferdinand concert, it’s your own damn fault.