Singles

Franz Ferdinand - Ulysses

Mark Shields 19/01/2009

Rating: 4/5

There's bass, sure, there's a cheeky drum beat too, and there is breathy vocals describing a conquest for a good night out, yep this is Franz Ferdinand and they have came back with a single that strides forward and away from their past with a doff of the cap and a cheeky flicking of the V's to it, as they jump into a taxi on the way to a different party.


That class of 2005 have not had it easy have they? Keane have tried the reinvention mode and had a good stab at it, Bloc Party have experimented entirely within their comfort zone and the Kaiser Chiefs are still on their way to becoming Blur with every album they release, so it might make sense for Franz to have stayed out of the ducking and diving November release schedule with it cluttered with heavyweights like Oasis, Snow Patrol, Coldplay and all the afore mentioned bands. Delaying the album further was a bold move; meaning mathematically 5 years between album and that is a long time in the land of pop music in the 21st century.


But that all counts for nothing when you can stride into the party and grab a bottle of vodka and pretend you had never left does it? Instead of trying to change it appears that Franz have not only polished their craft but returned to what made them so successful in the first place - a smart, riff laden danceable tune with echoes of dark Glasgow nights and early mornings. Ulysses doesn't leap of the page though, it quietly works away at you over time and adds each time you listen to it.


Was it a return worth waiting for? Yes - the song is better than most on their last, slightly off step second album, and is a return to the groovy dancerock that littered their debut EP and LP. Not their best single - sorry, but that is taken by Michael or L. Wells - but it is a great song and a promising start to 2009 from the class of 2005.

You can watch the new video HERE.

Release date: 19/01/09