Franz Ferdinand Reveal New Album Title

Describing the sound of a band is one thing; describing album cover art is another beast altogether. For example, this writer would have described the Franz Ferdinand debut album cover art as a throwback to the classic geometric abstract art of Mondrian and Malevich, expressing the mechanical written movement of Russian futurist fonts, reflecting a faux-Socialist/Realist political movement, with a nod to early Factory Records minimalist imagery.

Someone who certainly would have a better grasp of the Franz Ferdinand cover-design-thing is the Glasgow art-wave-obsessed foursome's main man himself, Alex Kapranos, who has revealed to the UK press what the future holds for Franz's album artwork and titles-- basically more of the same. In speaking with the NME, the lithe singer laid down the skinny on the Franz art aesthetic, claiming that the only changes in store for the new album due in September will be the color selection. Like their debut, there will be no title to the new disc, and the cover will now boast a black, red, and pale green surface as opposed to the first album's mix of dark brown, orange, and cream.

Said Kapranos: "The whole point is that the album doesn't have a title. We decided quite a while ago that we didn't want to give any of the albums titles, they were just going to be called Franz Ferdinand. The albums are going to be identified by their colour schemes rather than a title. The contrast of different colours creates a different mood. We experimented with different combinations of colours and this one stuck. At one level they looked good together, and they capture the mood of this record quite well."

Needless to say, a lot has happened to the band since the days they used an abandoned warehouse in Glasgow to host illicit art house rave-ups. But when the excitement of the accolades and award nominations subside, the business of making new albums must be at hand. As is the case when a debut album takes off commercially and critically, there's a lot of expectation and speculation as to what is in store for the difficult second album. The band will spend the next while selecting the final tracklisting from a stash of songs, some of which have been premiered and tested at various live dates recently. Among the titles which will make up the album are: "Turn It On", "Do You Want To?", "Your Diary", "I'm Your Villain", "What You Meant", "Outsiders", "Walk Away", "Well, That Was Easy", "Evil and a Heathen", "Eleanor, Put Your Boots Back On" and You Could Have it So Much Better". Rumors of a new song called "Arts of Pleasure" are unsubstantiated at this time...

TV on the Radio: http://www.franzferdinand.co.uk/