The Franz Ferdinand Albums Ranked

I used to think Franz Ferdinand was one of the coolest bands. I still think the Scottish group is pretty cool and a seminal part of my musical discovery, fitting into the mid-2000s explosion of post-punk-y/indie-y alternative rock acts. My love for the band has cooled since my middle and high school years, but that’s a relative statement. Franz Ferdinand has created some great music over their six albums released in the 21 years since 2004, and even when the work’s not entirely electrifying, it has threads of intriguing experimentation and composition.

#6 — THE HUMAN FEAR (2025)

Favorite track: “The Doctor”

THE HUMAN FEAR is Franz Ferdinand’s latest album, the impetus for this piece, and the ender of the longest gap between the band’s records after nearly seven years. It’s also not great. Franz Ferdinand has yet to release anything less than good, so I’m not saying THE HUMAN FEAR is terrible by any means. But in spite of the wait for it, the album seems to be missing some kind of deeper soul. Playing in the jangly and dance-y mold the band has essentially worked with since their third album, THE HUMAN FEAR has some truly catchy tunes and clever variations on established pop tropes. The former is best represented by the bouncy “The Doctor” and the latter, the throbbing “Hooked.” THE HUMAN FEAR is a pleasant and fun listen, but its hooks (in spite of its second-best song) don’t stay in my brain for very long.

#5 — ALWAYS ASCENDING (2018)

Favorite track: “Feel the Love Go”

Although ALWAYS ASCENDING is in league with the aforementioned run of dance-music-inflected alt rock releases from Franz Ferdinand, it is perhaps the band’s most explicit ode to disco and new wave. Frontman and vocalist Alex Kapranos’ voice drones in a true post-punk emulation, as best heard on the groovy “Feel the Love Go.” And the swirling sound of synths, constant drum beats, and glittery guitar riffs really call to mind a number of late ’70s and early ’80s sounds (including some sax!). This doesn’t make ALWAYS ASCENDING some totally derivative work, but it does make it a little less unique than the band’s other albums. It’s not like Franz Ferdinand’s early work was immaculately conceived with no apparent influences, but it stood apart more distinctly. ALWAYS ASCENDING is a good twist on good music, but like THE HUMAN FEAR, its greatest examples of catchiness, and otherwise moving passages, still don’t last.

#4 — TONIGHT (2009)

Favorite track: “No You Girls”

TONIGHT marked a definite shift from the sound of Franz Ferdinand’s first two albums, and in some ways, its framework has informed the band’s style in the 16 years since. Zigging and zagging with flamboyant beats, guitar riffs, and other instrumental accents, the record fuses the raucous rock of the first two albums with the disco, new wave, and modern dance music instincts mentioned above. It makes for a mostly intoxicating brew, which fits into TONIGHT’s concept as a dive into a hedonistic night out. “No You Girls” is a genuine earworm and it’s supported by an array of movement-inspiring tracks. There isn’t much to take issue with regarding TONIGHT, but Franz Ferdinand’s superior work makes it feel a bit slight by comparison.

#3 — RIGHT THOUGHTS, RIGHT WORDS, RIGHT ACTION (2013)

Favorite track: “Goodbye Lovers and Friends”

I remember RIGHT THOUGHTS, RIGHT WORDS, RIGHT ACTION’s release and being a little disappointed with it. Upon repeat listening 11-ish years later, my esteem for it has certainly risen. The relatively positive lyrical and sonic approach is buoyed by Franz Ferdinand’s usual talent for creating some catchy choral hooks, but there’s also an undercurrent of menace. Or is it angst? It’s some kind of darkness. It’s heard on the incredible closer “Goodbye Lovers and Friends,” which literally jumps back and forth from that darkness in its verses to a more pleasant, if still wistful, chorus. In numerical terms, the amount of great tracks on RIGHT THOUGHTS, RIGHT WORDS, RIGHT ACTION make it the third-best in the Franz Ferdinand catalog…and it’s got a lot of great tracks.

#2 — YOU COULD HAVE IT SO MUCH BETTER (2005)

Favorite track: “The Fallen”

If only more bands had “sophomore slumps” like Franz Ferdinand. YOU COULD HAVE IT SO MUCH BETTER, the band’s second album, is barely a step below its predecessor. Swiftly written and recorded after the huge success of their debut, YOU COULD HAVE IT SO MUCH BETTER is essentially a continuation of the group’s bright and upbeat, yet slightly moody, rock. But it’s like Franz Ferdinand just spawned another great batch of songs like those on their self-titled, not in an imitative way, but as a fully fledged complement. It’s not quite an all killer no filler record, but YOU COULD HAVE IT SO MUCH BETTER is exquisitely performed.

#1 — FRANZ FERDINAND (2004)

Favorite track: “Take Me Out”

My weird obsession with the “all killer no filler” designation is perhaps why I gave my relatively lukewarm evaluation of Franz Ferdinand in the intro, which is perhaps not reflected in the writeups of most of the albums on this list. But as I mentioned there, I held the band, and especially its first three albums, and especially especially their debut self-titled, in a higher esteem than I felt upon revisiting their work in bulk. But that’s perhaps because I would have said Franz Ferdinand was one of my favorite bands at one time and I wouldn’t say that now. It’s not that the group has gotten so embarrassingly bad, and has in fact continued with at least interesting developments; that’s no small feat for a once-hip band with a 21-year-old first album. I think I’ve just changed and my musical tastes have broadened. This long-winded qualification is perhaps out of step with my statement that FRANZ FERDINAND is a great record, even if it is not all killer no filler. Featuring the band’s mega-hit (and indeed probably their best song) “Take Me Out,” the rest of the album is no slouch. Franz Ferdinand came out of the gate with a fiery yet fun energy that must have been a tonic in the broader rock space of the mid-2000s (I imagine, I wasn’t quite old enough to have my finger on that pulse). There are all kinds of blended genres assigned to FRANZ FERDINAND (the album and the band), and as I mentioned earlier, it’s not like their influences aren’t worn on their sleeves. But this record in particular seems to defy easy categorization other than as counter-programming. FRANZ FERDINAND is still a thrilling album today, full of rousing displays of pop rock and even some angsty meditations, and still stands as the band’s best.