The Glasgow art rockers bring new album ‘The Human Touch’ to life live in Edinburgh.
If there’s one way to get your attention, it’s feedback.
That screech, like the sound of wailing banshees, isn’t the ideal way to start a gig. Add in the merch stall struggling to get a signal to process payments, and you might think a concert held in the belly of the Liquid Room was destined to be remembered for all the wrong reasons.
Thankfully, Franz Ferdinand were on hand to save the day.
Not all superheroes wear capes. Some, like the group’s frontman Alex Kapranos, are decked out like peak Bryan Ferry: a sharp suit with crisp red socks matching his shirt. He stands out from the crowd.
This was the first of two shows hosted in Edinburgh by Assai Records, hot on the heels of the band releasing The Human Touch, their first album in seven years.
The new album has unfairly been met with a lukewarm reception, which is a shame. The shimmering indie-glam disco finds the group firmly in their element.
It might not win over a legion of new supporters, but it’ll keep their passionate fan base content with tracks like ‘Hooked’ and ‘Birds.’
They opened with ‘Night And Day’ from the latest release and, straight away, Kapranos had the crowd eating out of his hand, serenading and reaching out to those within touching distance.
Then it was straight into ‘No You Girls’, which received the rapturous response it deserved.
More new tracks followed in the shape of ‘The Doctor’ and the BBC Radio 6-friendly ‘Audacious’, before ‘Walk Away’ found the band in a more tender mood.
No matter how well the latest material lands, it’s the hits that the fans want.
After another couple of tracks from The Human Touch, the band delivered a double blow that any guitar group worth their weight in gold would be thrilled to pull off.
‘Do You Want To’, with its suggestive lyrics and foot-stamping guitar licks, sent the crowd into a frenzy.
Then came ‘Take Me Out’, arguably one of the finest indie anthems of this century. It might have lost out in an infamous chart battle to fellow Scot Michelle McManus, but there’s no denying it won the war—and the adoration of music fans all over the world.
It may have been a tiny venue in Edinburgh, but it sounded so monumental, it felt like being at the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury.
Kapranos, ever the showman, leapt in time with the music—and over the goosebumps the audience were generating.
They’re not a one-man band. Far from it.
Bassist Bob Hardy may be the second-longest-serving member of the group, but the rest of the line-up slots in as if they’ve been there for years.
Some of the newer tracks gave the crowd a chance to catch their breath before the band closed with ‘This Fire’, leaving everyone begging for more.
As the crowd spilled out into the night, they were met by the sight of a queue already forming for the band’s next performance. The air was filled with a different kind of feedback—the kind that praised Franz Ferdinand.
A band that doesn’t often stray from the path they know so well.
And with a new album sounding admirable, older material standing the test of time, and more live gigs on the horizon, it’s a route well worth travelling.
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