Franz Ferdinand - Ulysses

Three years can seem like a lifetime in the competitive world of popular music. Trends can shift at the blink of an eye, bands at their peak can suddenly become yesterday's news, so Franz Ferdinand have been treading a fine line waiting 3 years since last album 'You Could Have It So Much Better', to come back with new material.

Amidst the many, many rumours of what direction the art-rockers would be taking on their third full-length opus, it's not as "far-out" as you may think. First single 'Ulysses' is a game of two halves - the first being the quieter intro that more than "borrows" from label mates Clinic and their 2000 song 'The Second Line', right down from the Kraut-esque wobble bass, the drums and the whispery vocals. Only in the uptempo parts do we hear the Franz of old - those erosive, jerky guitar riffs straight from the same camp that gave 'Take Me Out', suggesting the band haven't jumped too far away from their back catalogue.

Not as quirky or instantaneous as their past songs, or as experimental as we've been lead to think, Franz Ferdinand have ruined their spell of memorable singles. But maybe it'll sound better when heard as part of the whole album.