Yahoo! Music Review

Gig played on 20/01/09

For guitar pop fans and apologists for late western capitalism alike, 2009 spells rough times indeed. As 2008 finally did the decent thing and slunk out the building like an unwanted President sometime late last December, its heir apparent in the Gregorian calendar was being hailed by all and sundry as the death knell for five years of lads-with-guitars becoming more common than fabricated race-row headlines in a tabloid paper.

All of which leaves Franz Ferdinand skating on potentially thin ice indeed. The Glaswegian quartet were instrumental in cementing the trend's commercial viability, their eponymous debut's indelible post-punk hi-jinks rapidly winning over fans and critics looking for a way out of Pete 'n' Carl's rapidly-narrowing creative cul-de-sac back in '04.

They very nearly went arse over tit putting quote-marks around the camp with arch sophomore disc "You Could Have It So Much Better", essentially guaranteeing a less ticklish ear from the critical establishment by the time a third record minced into view. Five years down the line, then, are Franz the pop aces we dearly wanted them to be or merely the nicest hacks on a pedestrian-looking block?

On the strengths of "Tonight: Franz Ferdinand", the jury's out. Rumours of an afro-pop direction and collaboration with Girls Aloud hit-makers Xenomania amounted to naught, and although first inspection suggests a spring in their step that's far removed from its predecessor, equally it might be said to lack anything on a par with the brutish elegance of "Take Me Out"'s star-making turn.

"You're all very polite", says frontman Alex Kapranos, looking rake-thin and dashing as he surveys tonight's thronged faithful. "It's like meeting up with an ex." The feeling's more than mutual, but with a performance of boyish zeal blasting away the cobwebs in high style, Yahoo! Music is left seriously considering the prospect of sloppy seconds.

Recent single "Ulysses" slips down a treat with its creeping, insidious verses giving way to a bludgeoning choral bout that's very much indebted to The Kaisers' route-one approach, and "Live Alone" fairly explodes into life while shiny white Pegasuses gallop through the cosmos in the background, the band doing its best impersonation of ABBA dosed up on Hi-NRG funk.

With scarcely one whit of pretension smiles are spread across the audience like microwaved butter on toast, proving that, whatever the looming recession might hold for the likes of Franz Ferdinand, there's life in the old dogs yet.

by Alex Denney