The band has been in LA a lot lately (word is they were spotted filming a video on an off-day at the Echoplex a few weeks back), and now comes word that Franz Ferdinand will perform a free gig at Amoeba Records next Friday, January 30. Expect a madhouse, for sure, especially after they dropped Ulysses, their hot single from late last year. The funny thing about the song is that the band seems to be evolving along nearly the exact same lines as Gang of Four did. I mean, their early tracks owed EVERYTHING to Entertainment and Solid Gold, and here they are dipping from more beat-oriented dancefloor stuff, a la GoF's funky “Is This Love?” and “I Love a Man in a Uniform” phase. The other weird thing that we still don't have resolution on is the rumored album of Sparks covers that FF has reportedly been working on. Somebody pester them about this at Amoeba next week.

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