Pitchfork: Franz Ferdinand Tour, Ready LP for Fall

The smashing debut album from Scotland's Franz Ferdinand just went platinum in the U.S. And how do they show their gratitude? By playing the Royal Albert Hall, of course-- a nice nose-thumbing to the bastard children of the Empire. But the April 5 show was for a good cause: the quartet, appearing with Kaiser Chiefs, Graham Coxon, and the Magic Numbers, performed in support of Teenage Cancer Trust, a charity that builds youth cancer wards at UK hospitals.

Another good cause served that night was the hipster's hunger for new tracks, which was exuberantly satisfied by "Wee Andy" and "Evil Heathen"; in an interview with Matt Everitt on Xfm.co.uk, lead singer and terribly well-dressed man-about-town Alex Kapranos assured fans they'll be on their forthcoming sophomore effort. That album, of course, is being produced by Rich Costey (Rage Against the Machine, Bloc Party), is as yet untitled, and is, in fact, still being recorded somewhere in the green and rolling countryside in hopeful preparation for a fall release.

Kapranos also said that he and his cohorts have been listening to Heroes-era David Bowie and Bob Dylan's classic Highway 61 Revisited in heavy rotation. Kapranos says he's been more influenced on this second outing by the rhythm, not the message, of Dylan's Highway-era lyrics: "They're fantastic," he says. Just so it's a rhythm we can shake our asses to, Alex.

Meanwhile, if you need a live Franz fix, you'll have to find your way to Europe-- we hear Vantaa is lovely in the summer. Dates:

05-19 St. Petersburg, Russia - Manege
05-20 Moscow, Russia - B2 Club
05-21 Moscow, Russia - Maxidrome
05-24 Tallinn, Estonia - Club Hollywood
05-25 Riga, Latvia - Kipsala Hall
05-27 Reykjavik, Iceland - Kaplariki Sports Hall
07-20 Nimes, France - Place des Arenes
07-25 Herzogenrath, Germany - Sportanlage Schulzentrum
07-26 Athens, Greece - Lycabettus Theatre
08-08 Vantaa, Finland - Korsossa
08-09 San Sebastian, Spain - Anoeta Stadium
08-10 Madrid, Spain - Aqualung
08-11 Madrid, Spain - Vicente Calderon Stadium
08-12 Oslo, Norway - Middelalderparken
08-20 Staffordshire, England - Weston Park
08-21 Chelmsford, England - Hylands Park
08-26 Saint-Cloud, France - Domaine National de St. Cloud