Franz Ferdinand, one of the buzziest indie bands of the 2000s, hasn’t released a new record since 2013’s Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action (unless you count their 2015 record FFS, a collaboration with Sparks). Now, they’ve announced that they’re going to begin 2018 by ending that dry spell: The band’s fifth album, Always Ascending, is set for release on February 9th, 2018 via Domino.
Frontman Alex Kapranos called the band’s previous album “a good bookend to a period” and said the new record “feels like the perfect introduction to the decade that’s about to come.” That sounds about right, since lead single “Always Ascending” seems to largely trade in their signature guitar sound for electronic- and disco-inspired dance floor vibes.
Kapranos describes the album as “futuristic and naturalistic”:
“We wanted to take the sounds that are available to us now and make the sound that you haven’t heard before – the sound of the future. When you’re recording in 2017 you need to be looking ahead to the next thing. What haven’t people even heard in 2018? In terms of ‘naturalistic’, it’s not retrogressive but it’s about trying to make something that feels like it’s being played by humans. It’s very tempting in the studio to digitally tidy everything up – Photoshopping your music. Everything was played and nothing is programmed. It still has to be raw and have that rock n’ roll side to it.”
Find the Always Ascending tracklist and the band’s upcoming tour dates below.
1. “Always Ascending”
2. “Lazy Boy”
3. “Paper Cages”
4. “Finally”
5. “The Academy Award”
6. “Lois Lane”
7. “Huck And Jim”
8. “Glimpse Of Love”
9. “Feel The Love Go”
10. “Slow Don’t Kill Me Slow”
12/4/2017 — Seattle, WA @ Showbox Market
12/5/2017 — Vancouver, BC @ Commodore
12/6/2017 — Vancouver, BC @ Commodore
12/7/2017 — Portland, OR @ KNRK Show
12/9/2017 — Pomona, CA @ Glasshouse
12/10/2017 — Los Angeles, CA @ KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas
1/25/2018 — Tokyo, Japan @ Shinkiba Studio Coast
2/10/2018 — Galway, Ireland @ Leisureland
2/11/2018 — Dublin, Ireland @ Olympia Theatre
2/13/2018 — Manchester, UK @ Royal Albert Hall
2/14/2018 — Nottingham, UK @ Rock City
2/16/2018 — Newcastle, UK @ 02 Academy
2/17/2018 — Glasgow, UK @ 02 Academy
2/19/2018 — Leeds, UK @ 02 Academy
2/20/2018 — Birmingham, UK @ 02 Academy
2/21/2018 — Bristol, UK @ 02 Academy
2/23/2018 — Cambridge, UK @ Corn Exchange
2/24/2018 — London, UK @ 02 Brixton Academy
2/25/2018 — Brighton, UK @ Dome
2/27/2018 — Paris, France @ Zenith
2/28/2018 — Brussels, Belgium @ Forest National
3/1/2018 — Hamburg, Germany @ Mehr! Theater
3/3/2018 — Utrecht, Netherlands @ Tivoli Vrendenburg
3/4/2018 — Groningen, Netherlands @ De Oosterpoort
3/5/2018 — Cologne, Germany @ Palladium
3/7/2018 — Berlin, Germany @ Tempodrom
3/8/2018 — Warsaw, Poland @ Stodola
3/9/2018 — Prague, Czech Republic @ Forum Karlin
3/11/2018 — Zurich, Switzerland @ Halle 622
3/12/2018 — Munich, Germany @ Tonhalle
3/13/2018 — Vienna, Austria @ Gasometer
3/15/2018 — Bologna, Italy @ Unipol Arena
3/17/2018 — Madrid, Spain @ La Riviera
3/19/2018 — Toulouse, France @ Zenith
3/20/2018 — Montpellier, France @ Zenith Sud
3/21/2018 — Lyon, France @ Amphi 3000
3/23/2018 — Rennes, France @ Liberte
3/24/2018 — Caen, France @ Zenith
4/8/2018 — Toronto, ON @ Rebel
4/10/2018 — Boston, MA @ House of Blues
4/11/2018 — Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
4/13/2018 — Philadelphia, PA @ The Fillmore
4/16/2018 — Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel
4/27/2018 — Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
4/28/2018 — Kansas City, MO @ The Truman
4/30/2018 — Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave
5/2/2018 — St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant
5/7/2018 — Dallas, TX @ House of Blues
5/8/2018 — Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall
5/11/2018 — Phoenix, AZ @ The Van Buren
5/13/2018 — San Diego, CA @ North Park @ The Observatory
5/15/2018 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern
5/17/2018 — Oakland, CA @ The Fox Theatre
