Franz Ferdinand / Franz Ferdinand(1LP)

Recorded in a freezing Malm� studio with Swedish producer Tore Johansson (Cardigans), the album is 38 minutes of razor-wire guitars, motorik drums, and Alex Kapranos� half-sung, half-spoken lyrics about lust, boredom, and murder on-night stands in club toilets. Every song is built like a perfect pop single: verses that stalk, choruses that detonate, and guitar lines so angular you could cut yourself on them.