There’s a hit out on bands like Franz Ferdinand. With the unmatched success of Take Me Out, the lads from Glasgow epitomized the dance rock revival of the early 2000s, which ushered back an eighties pop sensibility insistent on big hooks, four-to-the-floor rhythms and amorous pretty boys who could play. Nine years on, in a field now wan of contemporaries, Franz Ferdinand returns with a decidedly vintage record in Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action.

Joyously confident, the album opener “Right Action” struts with a precision that emphasizes the signature interplay of jangly guitars and Alex Kapranos’ sultry vocals. “But how can we leave you,” sings Kapranos, “to a Saturday night or a Sunday morning,” affirming Franz Ferdinand’s eminence in matters of passion. Because the group’s thematic concerns have rarely deviated from tales of sexuality and romance, it’s remarkable that the formula remains fresh in the infectious cloak-and-dagger stylings of “Evil Eye” and “Love Illumination.” In contrast, disarmingly honest turns in “Stand on the Horizon” and “Brief Encounters” prove Kapranos’ lyrics go more than skin-deep, treading the emotional implications of regret and longing.

Something should be said for the focus and economy of Right Thoughts, being Franz Ferdinand’s briefest LP yet at just 35 minutes. While a slow burner like “The Universe Expanded” finds its place on repeat listens, “Fresh Strawberries” and “Goodbye Lovers & Friends” feel overblown with false diffidence. Kapranos is painfully aware that few expected Franz Ferdinand to survive their artistically exciting but ultimately hitless third album Tonight, a fact for which he proclaims himself a “self-crowned king” on “Treason! Animals”.

 These misfires scatter what could (and should) have been Franz Ferdinand’s truest shot yet. Although Kapranos and Co. don’t quite shake the crosshairs of their early success, Right Thoughts is at least a validation of their endurance and a measure of their fine caliber.

★★★  (three stars out of four)