Chimpomatic

Franz Ferdinand first surfaced on Domino's excellent Worlds of Possibility compilation in 2003, which celebrated the indie label's 10th anniversary. Their contribution (a demo of Darts of Pleasure) made a decent enough impression while sitting amongst the likes of Pavement, Sebadoh and Bonnie Prince Billy - but few would have bet money on the band becoming one of the crown jewels in the label's roster, giving them their first number on act in 2005.

Returning here with their third album, Franz Ferdinand claim to have taken a 'new direction', but it's unlikely to take anyone long to adjust to the new sound. Stop/start power disco is the order of the day, with very, very catchy, sing-a-long lyrics - smoothly running through the band's art school, psuedo-sexy style, like a Roxy Music for the 00's.

Lead single Ulysses is straightforward enough, making good use of loud/quiet, high impact production - like a disco Gang of Four. Things pick up with Send Him Away, which sees the style of the record develop a little - as the pop chorus/verse structure gives way to a nice guitar breakdown and leads into an impressive run of tracks, encompassing the heavy electronics of Twilight Omens and the pounding drums of Bite Hard.

The lawless guitar freak-out at the end of What She Came For shows a more rocking sensibility to the band, while the Kraftwerk beeps of Live Alone make it a perfect candidate for the next single, soaked in luscious 80's-style production. Things tale off a little with the video-game friendly Lucid Dreams - which drags it's feet from the beginning, running on for nearly 8 minutes - but it's one of only a few disappointing moments on the record.

Without knowing all the financial details, it seems like a fair bet that the success of Franz Ferdinand and the Arctic Monkeys has contributed a big chunk to the success of Domino over the last few years. The label was quick to see the potential in this relatively unconventional band and polish them into a thinking man's pop act - and if this is how the label pay their bills and finance their booming investment in new music, then who's complaining?