Franz Ferdinand - '14 new songs ready'

Franz Ferdinand have up to 14 new songs ready for when they go into the studio at the start of 2006.

The band, who have spent most of the autumn touring in support of their second album ’You Could Have It So Much Better’, plan to go into the studio in January to work on the new songs they’ve been jamming at soundchecks.

"Nick (McCarthy) and I have been working on a bunch of new songs, because that's what we love to do," singer Alex Kapranos told MTV. "Right now, there are five of them we're playing during soundchecks, and there are about nine others that are a little less developed. We've got time off in January, so Nick and I are going to head into the studio to record some of them, too."

He continued: "The songs are a lot grander — less spiky than anything we've done previously. Where we used to pound through beats in one bar, now we're taking three or four bars. And we don't come charging in with the guitars, we're leaning back against the beat. I've been listening to a bit of Kanye West, and I think Amerie's '1 Thing' is amazing. That's what some of the new stuff is sounding like. But of course, it's still us."

The band don’t have a release date set for their third album.