Franz Ferdinand
Franz Ferdinand’s new album remains grounded in the groove

Review By Andy Argyrakis

When Franz Ferdinand debuted in 2004 as part of the dance/pop craze that also ushered in the Killers, Interpol and a sea of like-minded (but generally faceless) retro revivalists, it was unclear how long the Glasgow foursome would stick around. Sure, front man Alex Kapranos was charismatic enough, while the rhythm section of guitarist Nick McCarthy, bassist Bob Hardy and drummer Paul Thomson was pretty tight, but with so many club-thumping alt-rockers to choose from, it would take much more than merely polished musicianship.

Luckily, the group’s self-titled CD was loaded with stellar material, most notably, unshakable singles like “Take Me Out” and “This Fire.” There was also plenty of buzz to match, including American audiences that literally lined-up overnight to catch a glimpse of the band’s inaugural SXSW appearance that year, though with an equally infectious follow-up in 2005 via You Could Have It So Much Better, Franz Ferdinand proved to persevere beyond the hype.

“When that [level of fame] happens to a solo artist, I doubt very much if they’ll be able to completely stay themselves,” says Hardy on the phone from a warm-up date in Las Vegas. “Because there are four of us and you’re sharing in the experience, you keep each other grounded about it all. When you’re solo, that’s when big egos can brew, but I guess since we’ve been living together since ’03 either in the studio or a tour bus, it’s really become like family, and we don’t even think about the [initial hype] anymore.”

A listen to the quartet’s third endeavor Tonight: Franz Ferdinand indicates a band that’s even more confident in its skin, retaining some of the dance floor flavors of its earlier discs, but exploring a more expansive swath of eclectic instrumentation. From layers of old school synthesizers to tribal rhythms and the occasional African percussion influences, this project finds the players shedding preconceptions and showcasing perceptible artistic growth.

“I guess the main differences [on Tonight: Franz Ferdinand] are the tempos,” Hardy says. “It’s a lot slower than our previous record and the arrangements, synths and electronics are of far more importance this time out. The rhythm, drums and bass are more leading. Our second record was guitar heavy, very quick with linear guitars, and we tried for it to be a dance record. But now we’re really getting into a groove, which is a horrible word, but I’m basically trying to say we’re at more of a human heart kind of tempo. It’s a sort of disco almost but groovier.”

Chances are the lead single “Ulysses” has already caught the ears of even casual listeners, strutting with a sultry swagger and brooding undercurrent. Yet there’s also the much more loose and upbeat swinger “Turn It On,” the percolating, ’80s-inspired “Live Alone” and even the remarkably soulful “Can’t Stop Feeling,” suggesting anyone who’s previously tried to pin these players to a certain sound won’t have a chance to phrase their words with any sort of predictability.

“The second record was really quickly recorded and we didn’t really stop in between the first two, just going from the road straight to the studio,” Hardy says, suggesting the three years in between records accounted for the widened creativity. “You can’t do that for too long really because you don’t have anything to write about. Touring is a false world and it can be really exhausting, so we took some time off and just waited till we were good and ready to start up again. It was a very similar process to the first record where we’d been a band for a year and a half before recording. It let the songs breath in a natural way rather than just banging them out.”

Despite the time crunch, Franz Ferdinand has certainly earned the clout to follow whatever pacing members so desire. The group’s lengthy list of accolades include a Mercury Prize, an MTV Award, a pair of Brit Awards and four NME Awards (including 2006’s “Best Live Band”). In keeping with the guys’ grounded attitudes, these instances of acclaim didn’t have all that much effect on their situation, other than pleasing the record label and making the band more publicly prominent.

“We really just went away from record companies, press and the industry to just hang out as friends just like we did during the old days,” he says of these sessions. “We were always told the second record was the one we should feel pressure about and we’re happy that’s over with, though some have asked us during interviews for the new record ‘how about that difficult third record?’ and I’m like ‘which one is it?’ We just relaxed and took our time.”

The lyrics throughout Tonight: Franz Ferdinand back up Hardy’s claims of camaraderie, referencing partying late into the night, sorting out lost and regained loves, all the while keeping an ear close to the club speakers so to speak. “The themes aren’t all that specific other than the fact it’s more of a nighttime record,” Hardy explains. “You’ll hear classic themes in rock like relationships and partying, but it’s made for the dance floor and has a bit of a seedy edge. My favorite kind of music comes from bands like the Smiths that have these euphoric choruses that are just massive, which can relate just as much dancing to them at a club as they can walking down the street with your headphones on.”

As for the disc’s title, it ties in with the band’s tireless work ethic on tour with artwork lettering meant to conjure up the idea of a theater marquee. Hardy equates the moniker to the entire experience of a concertgoer walking up to the venue to buy a ticket, heading inside to catch the show and being captivated by the sounds that go down that night.

After a few spot dates in America and a lengthier trek throughout Europe, the band is plotting a massive Stateside trek in the front half of ‘09. But this time through, narrowing down the set list is a bit trickier than it’s been in the past, not just because of the growing pool of potential songs, but also because of the complicated elements packed into the current collection.

“Hopefully [fans] will have heard the album by the time we come through and then it’s just up to us to bring forward a live interpretation of the album,” Hardy contends. “It’s going to be quite interesting because there are a lot of complex layers and broad palates of sound that’s quite exciting as we’re start figuring out how to do this. There are a few songs we haven’t tried yet that have a lot of synths, so many in fact that we couldn’t possibly bring them on all tour because some are really old and might break at the first bump. But we’ll be playing samples and have two or three keyboards to use to bring across those sounds. So far it’s been good and everyone seems to like the new tunes, at least I think they are. We’re going to mix them into the old stuff and hopefully hit everyone’s favorite songs of ours along the way.”