For the past four years, the only places you could find Franz Ferninand would be on Milk Cartons and Telephone Poles. Fortunately, you can cross the four lads off of your missing persons lists because they are back!

By keeping things short and sweet (the album clocks in at just over 35 mins) Kapranos and co. have trimmed the excess fat which weighed them down on their previous album, Tonight: Franz Ferdinand, and have gone with a more natural dance-rock sound.  Arming themselves with more hooks than most bands should be allowed, this Scottish foursomes latest offering is more than worthy of finding itself on any local dance floor.

Lead single, “Right Action”, sounds like a track missing from 2004’s self titled venture, Franz Ferdinand. With a simple but thumping bass line and that recognizable jittery, twangy Franz Ferdinand guitar sound, it’s clear that the lads of Franz Ferdinand felt some pressure to prove that they still had some gas left in the tank.

“Stand On The Horizon”, “Fresh Strawberries” and “The Universe Expanded” all do a great job of quietly keeping the groove moving while “Love Illumination” and “Bullet” amp up both the attitude and danceability.

A few years ago lead singer, Alex Kapranos, was quoted as saying that he just wanted to make music that girls could dance to. It appears that on their fourth major release not only has Kapranos stayed true to this goal, but he has also somehow perfected it.