Franz Ferdinand // Tonight

I’ve been privileged enough to see Franz Ferdinand play live twice – the first time was in Cambridge in 2003, just months before they stormed the charts with debut ‘Take Me Out’, when they performed in front of a crowd of about 10 people. Knowing little about the band, I was instantly taken with their no-nonsense approach and the undeniable charisma and likeability of lead Alex Kapranos. The second time was five years later, when they headlined the main stage of last years’ Latitude festival in front of thousands of fans, as one of Britain’s biggest bands following the huge mainstream success of their first two albums. I can remember two things from that night at Latitude. One - their new material sounded great. And two - I do not enjoy having my face squashed into the sweaty armpit of a hairy topless Neanderthal who insisted on moshing to the Glaswegian quartet, whilst somehow managing to get confused by the words in the line ‘Well do ya, do ya do ya wanna?’ But I digress… Franz’s third studio album, Tonight: Franz Ferdinand, is no doubt one of the most anticipated UK releases of 2009, and puts Franz in the unenviable position of trying to overcome the ‘third album curse’ that affects so many bands. Do they manage it? Well, almost. This isn’t their best record by a long shot. That being said, there is enough on the album to keep fans happy – new single ‘Ulysses’ is a fantastic example of the bands’ musical ability, and the incredibly poppy ‘No You Girls’ will have dance floors filled in no time. With a healthy sprinkling of electronica thrown in, Franz have taken a chance with this album which doesn’t completely pay off, but at least ‘Tonight’ is the sound of a band that is looking to the future.