Franz Ferdinand have been fairly quiet since the release of their fifth album, Always Ascending back in 2018. Today they make a return with a new single and the announcement of a forthcoming greatest hits compilation album. Hits to the Head is out March 11 2022 via Domino, and will feature songs from all their previous albums as well as two new tracks. Of the compilation, lead singer/guitarist Alex Kapranos said:
“It’s the same as writing a set-list for a festival: you want to play the songs you know people want to hear. The hits. Bring the hits to the head. The heart. The feet. That means obvious singles, but also songs you know have a special meaning for both band and audience like Outsiders. We also added two new songs, recorded last year: ‘Billy Goodbye’ and ‘Curious,’ both co-produced at the last stage with Stuart Price. I have friends who believe you’re somehow not a ‘real’ fan if you own a best of rather than a discography. I disagree. I think of my parents’ record collection as a kid. I loved their compilation LPs. I am so grateful that they had Changes or Rolled Gold. Those LPs were my entrance point. My introduction.“
“Billy Goodbye” serves as a fine final track to the compilation, managing to condense elements of their previous albums into one single track. There’s the “Do You Want To” guitar chug and stomp, the Tonight-like percussion in the bridge with what sounds like a marimba, and there’s the Always Ascending-esque new wave synth throughline during the song’s chorus. And like Franz Ferdinand from the start, the song is a catchy, swaggering number that has that branded self-referential smirk about it (“When it comes to recollecting / Don’t forget the best bits”) – as well as just a hint of Don McLean’s “American Pie.”
Check out the video for “Billy Goodbye” below or listen via your favourite streaming site.
Franz Ferdinand’s Hits to the Head is out March 11 2022 via Domino. Check out the tracklist below:
Franz Ferdinand – Hits to the Head
1. Darts Of Pleasure
2. Take Me Out
3. The Dark Of The Matinée
4. Michael
5. This Fire
6. Do You Want To
7. Walk Away
8. The Fallen
9. Outsiders
10. Lucid Dreams
11. Ulysses
12. No You Girls
13. Right Action
14. Evil Eye
15. Love Illumination
16. Stand On The Horizon
17. Always Ascending
18. Glimpse Of Love
19. Curious
20. Billy Goodbye
