• RDS to Host The Killers and Franz Ferdinand in June

    February 16, 2018 - By 

    Early-to-mid noughties NME nostalgists, rejoice: it’s been announced that the Killers and Franz Ferdinand will team up with for an open-air show at Dublin’s RDS on June 26. Tickets for the show are priced at €69.50 and go on sale on Friday, February 23. While we have you, here’s Jonny Currie’s verdict on the new Franz Ferdinand album, Always Ascending. Remember ‘Michael’? Feels like a lifetime ago, man.

  • Franz Ferdinand @ Olympia Theatre, Dublin

    February 13, 2018 - By 

    You get the impression Alex Kapranos enjoys this kind of thing. The frontman strutted on stage, fully decked out in signature skinny suit and tie, looking like he was born there. Sporting a newly bleached quiff and rockstar pout, the Scot had a heavy whiff of Bill Nighy’s character in Love Actually about him. There were hips thrusts; there were finger wags; there were even Eddie Van Halen style guitar jumps. And like the aforementioned Nighy, you can’t help but be endeared by his performance. Before the Dublin crowd got this show of old school entertainment, there were some young…

  • Franz Ferdinand  – Always Ascending

    February 9, 2018 - By 

    After the Glasgow School of Art was severely damaged by fire in 2014, it was argued that the extensive coverage afforded to this incident was greater than the actual public interest in the Mackintosh-designed institution itself. Some bands, burdened by instant debut success, similarly linger long in the memory of music critics long after the record-buying public has moved on. Enter one-time art school alumni Franz Ferdinand, who have managed to side-step the indie landfill of the mid-noughties by releasing five solid albums (six if we’re including the 2015 collaboration with Sparks) of arch art-pop. And still, they command considerable…

  • The Breeders, Orbital, Ash and More Added to BBC’s Biggest Weekend in Belfast

    February 7, 2018 - By 

    The final acts to play at BBC’s Biggest Weekend in Belfast across May 25-26 has been announced, and it’s pretty special. Joining the likes of Beck, Courtney Barnett and Manic Street Preachers are The Breeders, First Aid Kit, Goldie, Orbital, Little Dragon, Franz Ferdinand, Young Fathers and Ash. We’re going out on a limb here: this is probably the strongest line-up for a festival in Northern Irish music history. Don’t pass up the chance to get tickets when they go on sale this Monday at 10am.

  • BNQT @ The Button Factory, Dublin

    November 6, 2017 - By 

    The initial seeds of BNQT were planted by Midlake’s Eric Pulido while touring their Antiphon album back in 2013. He hoped he could convince several of his favourite vocalists into a collaboration of sorts that mirrored something akin to the Traveling Wilburys crossed with The Band, with vocal and songwriting duties being shared. Fast forward to April of this year and BNQT’s debut Volume.1 finally blossomed, with Grandaddy’s Jason Lytle, Travis’ Fran Healy, Franz Ferdinand’s Alex Kapronas and Band of Horses Ben Bridwell joining Pulido and some of his fellow Midlake colleagues; Jesse Chandler, Joey McClellan and McKenzie Smith. With…

  • Franz Ferdinand – Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action

    August 30, 2013 - By 

    Franz Ferdinand have kept a deliberately low profile ahead of their latest release, Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action, with lead singer Alex Kapranos having being quoted as saying that he felt “misinformation” had been forthcoming about their last album Tonight: Franz Ferdinand. Being cut from a literary sort of cloth, there is – you’ve guessed it – a concept of sorts linking the songs, apparently based around the cynic’s search for optimism and the sceptic’s search for a manual ‘crop up’ here and there. Don’t follow Alex’s words? No, I don’t either, and if your listening pleasure is enhanced…

  • Watch: Franz Ferdinand – Right Action

    July 8, 2013 - By 

    Scottish four-piece Franz Ferdinand have unveiled the video to their new single, ‘Right Action’. Taken from the band’s first album in four years – Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action – the video was directed by Jonas Odell, the man behind the band’s video for ‘Take Me Out‘. Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action will be released via the ever-reliable Domino. Watch the video for ‘Right Action’ below.

  • Stream: two new Franz Ferdinand singles

    June 27, 2013 - By 

    Scottish indie rock quartet Franz Ferdinand have unveiled two new singles, taken from their forthcoming fourth album, Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Actions. Streaming via YouTube the tracks – lead track ‘Right Action’ and ‘Love Illumination’ – are two of ten set to feature on the highly-anticipated album, set for release on August 27 via Domino. Stream both tracks below.