Always Ascending (song)

"Always Ascending" is a song by Scottish indie rock band Franz Ferdinand. It was released as the lead single from their fifth studio album of the same name on 25 October 2017. Two days before the release of the song the band released a clip of the song. It released along with a shorter edited version.

"Always Ascending"
Single by Franz Ferdinand
from the album Always Ascending
Released	25 October 2017 (2017-10-25)
Recorded	2016–17
Genre	Disco-rock[1][2] new wave[3] post-punk[4] art pop[5]
Length	5:21 (album version) 3:49 (edited version)
Label	Domino
Songwriter(s)	Julian Corrie Bob Hardy Alex Kapranos Paul Thomson
Producer(s)	Philippe Zdar
Franz Ferdinand singles chronology
"Demagogue" (2016) "Always Ascending" (2017) "Feel the Love Go" (2018)
Music video
”Always Ascending on YouTube

Background and release

After their 2013 album Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action the band formed a supergroup with the American rock band Sparks by the name of FFS in 2014. The band's name is an abbreviation of Franz Ferdinand Sparks. The group's existence was formally announced on 9 March 2015.^[6] In July 2016 founding guitarist Nick McCarthy left the band to focus on side-projects and spending time with his family, and was replaced with guitarist Dino Bardot and keyboardist Julian Corrie.^[7]

Leading up to the song's release the band released a snippet of the song on 23 October.^[8] The song was released with an edited version, which has the roughly one minute 15 second long piano intro and the shorter piano outro cut out.

The song makes extensive use of a Shepard Tone throughout, adding emphasis to the title of the track.^[9]

Music video

A music video for "Always Ascending" was released on 4 December 2017. It was directed by AB/CD/CD,^[10] who previously worked with the band on the music video for their FFS song "Johnny Delusional".^[11] Described as "vivid" by Rolling Stone, the video features slow motion scenes of the band's members floating around in front of abstract backgrounds. Band frontman Alex Kapranos described it as "pretty much a typical Sunday afternoon round at Franz Ferdinand's flat".^[10]

Track listing

Download and streaming release

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Always Ascending"	5:21

Edited version

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Always Ascending" (edit)	3:49

Remix EP

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Always Ascending" (Cassius Remix)	8:43
2.	"Always Ascending" (Prins Thomas Remix)	10:03
3.	"Always Ascending" (Nina Kraviz House Remix)	3:25

Nina Kraviz Remixes

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Always Ascending" (Nina Kraviz Techno Remix)	7:52
2.	"Always Ascending" (Nina Kraviz Late Night Remix)	6:47

Charts

Chart performance for "Always Ascending"

Chart (2017–2018)	Peak position
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)[12]	13
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Wallonia)[13]	31
Canada Rock (Billboard)[14]	47
Japan Hot Overseas (Billboard)[15]	20
Mexico Ingles Airplay (Billboard)[16]	30
Poland (ZPAV)[17]	50
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[18]	25
US Rock Airplay (Billboard)[19]	50

References

1. Ryan Reed (25 October 2017). "Hear Franz Ferdinand's Winding, Synth-Heavy New Song 'Always Ascending'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
2. Randall Colburn (25 October 2017). "Franz Ferdinand announce new album, Always Ascending, share title track: Stream". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
3. Owens, Dan (8 February 2018). "Franz Ferdinand resume their ascent". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
4. Manno, Lizzie (8 January 2018). "Franz Ferdinand Drop Bold New Video for "Feel The Love Go"". Paste. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
5. Jack (27 October 2017). "'Always Ascending' – Franz Ferdinand – Review". Hey Nineteen. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
6. Goble, Corban (9 March 2015). "Franz Ferdinand and Sparks Form Supergroup FFS". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
7. Wicks, Amanda (19 May 2017). "Franz Ferdinand Introduce Two New Members". Pitchfork. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
8. Trendell, Andrew (23 October 2017). "Franz Ferdinand tease return with snippet of new music". NME. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
9. McCormick, Neil (9 February 2018). "Franz Ferdinand are still operating on an elevated plateau – Always Ascending, review". The Telegraph.
10. Reed, Ryan (4 December 2017). "Watch Franz Ferdinand's Vivid 'Always Ascending' Video". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
11. "Watch: FFS unveils new video for 'Johnny Delusional'". Gigwise. 23 May 2015. Retrieved 7 December 2017.
12. "Franz Ferdinand – Always Ascending" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
13. "Franz Ferdinand – Always Ascending" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
14. "Chart Search". Billboard Canada Rock for Franz Ferdinand. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
15. "Billboard Japan Hot Overseas" (in Japanese). Billboard Japan. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
16. "Franz Ferdinand Album & Song Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
17. "Polish Singles Chart |". Archived from the original on 22 December 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
18. "Franz Ferdinand Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
19. "Franz Ferdinand Chart History (Rock Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 2 February 2018.