FRANz FERDINAND

Always Ascending 7/10

Scottish group try out wonky disco-pop on solid fifth

For their first album in well over five years – not counting a well-received collaboration with Sparks in 2015 – Alex Kapranos and co have waved goodbye to guitarist Nick McCarthy (on a break, apparently), added two new members and enlisted Cassius’ Philippe Zdar as producer. The result is a quiet success; the opening, Talking Heads-indebted disco groove of the title track is one of their strongest offerings in years, while the likes of “Lois Lane” and “Feel The Love Go” have shimmering synth lines, glistening grooves and propulsive dancefloor beats. Always Ascending’s embrace of vital, wonky pop doesn’t exclude diversity, though, with “The Academy Award” simmered down to a sparse, acousticled dirge and “Huck And Jim” a charmingly sideways excursion.