First Listen: Franz Ferdinand - Lucid Dreams

It seems like not too long ago Franz Ferdinand were talking about Afrobeat and rewriting music, but anyone present at Latitude a few weeks back already knew that perhaps that was a wee bit of an overstatement. ‘Lucid Dreams’ got an airing there, and far from being a reinvention, it’s actually exactly what everyone would expect.

Not a bad thing, many will cry, and they’ve got a point. Guitar lines that sound like they’re being played on elastic bands, chugging beat, catchy chorus; there’s something reassuring about the familiarity. Lyrically it’s fairly standard fare too, with that trademark Kapranos vocal paining the imagery on thick. There are some eastern sounding strings playing what sounds to these ears like the theme from Knight Rider, which granted, nobody would have seen coming.

Apparently it’s not a single (understandable; recent live outings have shown some far stronger material - Ed), but will appear on Madden 09 - exactly the place you expect to find Scottish indie heroes, we’re sure you’ll agree. Some sources think it is still in consideration for the band’s long awaited third album, due next year.

The track is available to stream from the band’s official site here for a limited time.