Franz Ferdinand - Always Ascending

How to always keep an ascending grade? That’s the question Franz Ferdinand must have asked themselves while taking on this 5th album, firmly disco-dance, as well depicted by the sleeve – yet remaining rock in the same time.

First, how to always keep ascending, within one track? Even though there is better in the album, even though the eponymous "Always Ascending" more or less looks like a "big intro", you should linger on this track. Listen to it while asking yourself this question, and you’ll surprisingly notice that it’s true: it is always ascending! The auditory trick created by the background whistling sound is a synthetic process invented the American psychologist Roger Shepard. Fascinating! The effect is increased by the 5-part song structure 1-2-3-4-2-3-4-5, by the frenzy after the long intro, or by the final unexpected development with key change (1 tone higher of course). This part with the backing vocals reminds me of Belle and Sebastian, another Scottish rock band who happily attempted a disco-dance trip (Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance, 2015) and inspiration of bass-player Bob Hardy. And it isn’t the only place of the record where this resemblance strikes me.

On the whole, the fans of the rock sound from the previous albums of Alex Kapranos’ gang risk being disappointed by this change. But you open-minded people will find there enough material to occupy your ears for some time.
As for me, it’s been a long time I hadn’t reviewed a real good peppy album.

The instruments? A bass guitar in ambush which emerges timely as backup when the tchakapoom could get boring. Like in "Lazy Boy". By the way, who is this lazy boy? Certainly not drummer Paul Thomson, who thrashes about from one end of the record to the other,tireless, with his open-closed hi-hats ("Feel the Love Go"). Rhythm electric guitars which fill the holes of the singing, palm-muted (typical of disco) or in repeated gimmicks. Other suppliers of gimmicks, Julian Corrie’s radiant synths will make dizzy the most placid amonst you ("Glimpse of Love").

On the stall of resemblances (I can’t help myself), a little Cure touch – "Lovecats" period – in "Paper Cages" (or maybe Peter Gabriel?)
For the diversity of what’s offered, including the synth conribution, I can see some James, without the voice.
And suddenly, without really knowing why, but I don’t think it’s a coincidence, I’m thinking of Chumbawamba, for example in the iconoclastic "Huck and Jim". With lyrics that propose to praise the British NHS in Trump’s America, on a big heavy chorus that reminds me of "America" by Rammstein ...while referring to Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain!

But back to music. As you aren’t dance-floors regulars, you think you won’t keep pace and all this bustle will push you to put the record away quite quickly. Wrong! For the quintet had the intelligence to include 2 (very good) ballads, in 5th and 10th positions. "The Academy Award" speaks of appearances and so-called social media, where people stage themselves and make movies of their own life. An analysis of the spirit of the times which is similar to what Daran told me during his exclusive interview for japprecie.
"Slow Don't Kill Me Slow" closes the album while putting you in mind that, like in all good stories, the guy dies in the end. You can’t always keep an ascending grade.