2012 In Preview: Franz Ferdinand

Over the next few days we’ll be looking at what’s to come in the year ahead, and picking out some of the releases we’re most looking forward to hearing over the coming months.

This may just be my perception of events, but Franz Ferdinand’s last album “Tonight” pretty much sank without a trace. Which is a shame really, as it really didn’t deserve to be met with such indifference. I know I’ll be in the minority here, but I thought “You Could Have It So Much Better” was a far superior record to their debut, and while their third album didn’t quite reach the same heights the band’s willingness to try new ideas, such as on the eight minute long trance breakdown Lucid Dreams, is to be applauded.

For all these reasons I’m looking forward to hearing some new Franz Ferdinand in 2012. While there’s no guarantee a record will be out this year, with the band remaining tight lipped on their progress with album number four, they’ve now been working on it for close to two years and everything points towards something being released this year. The band’s scheduled headline slot at Field Day in June could just be a chance to road test new material, but given how long they’ve been working on the album already we wouldn’t be surprised if the record was released around the same time. Whatever the case may be, 2012 will certainly see some activity from the Franz camp after a pretty quiet 2011, and that in itself is cause for celebration.

THE DEETS

Title: TBC

Release Date: Unknown

Likelihood: High