Franz Ferdinand Announce New Album, Ahead Of Australian Tour

Scotland indie rockers Franz Ferdinand have set a date for their fourth studio album, which comes after a four year wait following their 2009 record, Tonight.

Rights Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action is set to be released on Friday August 23rd through Domino/EMI, and was recorded at lead guitarist and vocalist, Alex Kapranos’ Scottish studio and guitarist, Nick McCarthy’s Sausage Studios in London.

According to the press release, the LP sees the band “[cementing] their status as a unique and adventurous British band: emboldened by a decade’s undreamt-of worldwide success, yet still daring and defiant. It’s an ecstatic rejection of the drab conventions often accompanying that level of attention and expectation.”

Fans can look forward to “painterly lyrical detail, heavyweight hooks, precise aesthetic vision and the uncanny ability to marry arch artistic sensibility with pop punch- and push it event further.”

A brief trailer for the album has also been posted on the band’s Youtube site, showing the band members jumping out of bed to the album opener “Right Action” and providing fans with a teaser of what is to come. Fans can look forward to “painterly lyrical detail, heavyweight hooks, precise aesthetic vision and the uncanny ability to marry arch artistic sensibility with pop punch.”

As previously reported, Franz Ferdinand premiered new material from the album at the Chile leg of Lollapalooza music festival earlier in the year. It was here that they let slip that they would be returning to Australia in November for a headline tour, their first visit since 2010 for Future Music Festival.

Given the August release date of Rights Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action and the impending November tour dates for Australia, Franz Ferdinand are a strong contender for Harvest Festival’s 2013 and one of the lead rumours in a growing list of bands.

The first leak of the Harvest 2013 lineup has already arrived, in Neutral Milk Hotel confirming they’d be playing Harvest as part of their first official reunion tour in some 15 years. Following a swathe of tour dates in October across North America, Jeff Magnum and co. will touch down in Melbourne on Sunday 10th November for Harvest at Werribee Park, followed by Sydney on Saturday 16th and then Brisbane the next day.

Harvest Festival boss AJ Maddah has already confirmed via Twitterthat he has “about 8 bands locked in for Harvest.” Based on Maddah’s tweets, other potentials for the third Harvest outing would be reclusive Irish singer-songwriter Damien Rice, who “would be great for Harvest 2013,” while a suggestion that Philly rock band Mewithoutyou would return to our shores prompted Maddah to “invite them to Harvest right away!” He also told a user he would consider inviting Jack White too.

You can view the artwork and tracklist for Rights Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action, out August 23rd through Domino/EMI, below.