Unfortunately Franz Ferdinand have already beaten Bloc Party to the - dare I say it, party - but that hasn't stopped clever management types seeing a gap-filled market and going for it.

The truth is the London-based foursome, hailed as the new FF aren't a patch on their Scottish rivals and this coming from somebody with no interest in bourgeois rock.

The bland, sorry band are have just finished a tour of the UK and are now ready to conquer the USA, I can't think where they got that idea from!

So back to the album, which is a bit wishy-washy to say the least, starts off with Like Eating Glass - which is a promising enough beginning but by the end of it a disturbing feeling of "I've heard this before haven't I" washes over you.

The 13-song album moves on with Helicopter, a tune which is straight out of the FF catalogue and from there despite a couple of slow ballads including Blue Light it's really same old, same old.

A shining light in the Bloc Party comes from drummer Matt Tong who at the start doesn't really fit in but by the end holds this album together - just.

The limited edition CD also comes with a bonus live DVD of four songs off the album.

MS