Scottish indie rockers Franz Ferdiand and quirky American pop duo Sparks have announced details of their collaborative album under the name FFS. The record, also titled FFS, will be released on June 8 on Domino, which Franz Ferdinand is signed to.
The label has also released the album’s final track and first single, “Piss Off,” which can be streamed below.
Although Franz Ferdinand likely need no introduction (although if you do, Sarah Rix recently finished a wonderful run on them over on the One Week One Band tumblog), this may be the first time some music fans have encountered Sparks. Comprised of brothers Russell (vocals) and Ron Mael (keyboards), Sparks are known for their eccentric lyrics and unusual hooks (Wikipedia describes them as “idiosyncratic”, which is so apt that it’s probably a cliche to describe them with). The duo have been cited as massively influential on the alternative music genre over their nearly five decade career, and their songs “This Town Ain’t Big Enough for the Both of Us” (1974) and “Cool Places” (1983), among others, are considered left-of-center classics. The FFS project is the duo’s first new music since their 2009 album The Seduction of Ingmar Bergman. If “Piss Off” is any indicator, the FFS album is likely to be dominated by Sparks’ quirky stylistic signifiers.
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