Kevin Bronson on October 25th, 2017

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Scottish quintet Franz Ferdinand will release their fifth album (and first in five years) on Feb. 9. The band — Alex Kapranos (vocals, guitar), Bob Hardy (bass), Paul Thomson (drums), Julian Corrie (keyboards, guitar) and Dino Bardot (guitar) — unveiled the title track for “Always Ascending” today. It’s a slow-building, glossy dance-floor track, reminiscent of Talking Heads, that gives synths equal footing with FF’s spiky guitars, reflecting what the band calls a “broadening palate.” The album was made at RAK Studios in London and Motorbass in Paris, with French producer Philippe Zdar (Cassius, Phoenix, The Beastie Boys). Along with the album news, Franz Ferdinand announced touring plans that will bring them back to Los Angeles next spring.

||| Stream: “Always Ascending”

||| Live: Franz Ferdinand play the Wiltern on May 15. No date has been announced yet for ticket sales. Pre-sale starts today and tomorrow; general on-sale is 10 a.m. Friday. Tickets.