Franz Ferdinand

After that success, their second album, You Could Have It So Much Better, arrived in 2005 and topped the UK charts in its first week, selling over one hundred thousand copies. Tracks like Do You Want To and Walk Away kept the essence of their debut but with a more polished sheen, almost as if they had refined their formula without betraying it. However, the most radical shift came with Tonight: Franz Ferdinand in 2009, where they abandoned post-punk for a more danceable sound, full of synthesizers and rhythms that invited movement. The album did not have the same critical impact as their earlier work, but it proved the band was not content to repeat themselves. They even released Blood, an album of dub versions of that record, as if they wanted to explore how far they could stretch their own material.

In 2013, with Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action, they returned to their roots: clean guitars, precise structures, and lyrics that play with ambiguity. The album was self-produced and marked a return to basics, as if after years of experimenting, they had remembered what made them unique. Two years later, the FFS project —a collaboration with the American band Sparks— took them to unexpected territory: a rock album with glam touches and surrealist lyrics, recorded in 2015 and released that same year. It was a fun detour, but also proof they were not afraid to step out of their comfort zone.

Changes in the lineup also left their mark. Nick McCarthy left the band in 2016 to pursue other projects, and in 2021 Paul Thomson departed, replaced by Audrey Tait. Their latest album to date, Always Ascending (2018), followed the path of its predecessor, with songs like Always Ascending and Demagogue blending energy and melancholy. What’s curious is that, despite the ups and downs, the core of their sound remains intact: guitars that cut, basslines that guide, and drums that leave no room for error. It’s a style that doesn’t age poorly because they never aimed to sound modern—just authentic.