Franz Ferdinand have introduced two new songs into their live sets and have started work on the follow-up to their self-titled debut. "We don't really get stagnant," says bassist Bob Hardy backstage at Britain's Leeds Festival. "We never stop working."

The Scottish rockers composed the new songs, which include "This Boy" and "Your Diary," on the road and they are in a similar vein to tracks from Franz Ferdinand. "They're dancey still -- very, very fast beats," Hardy says. "The more we play together, the tighter it becomes."

Though they already have over half an album's worth of material written, Hardy says the band will approach recording as fastidiously as it writes. "Every single song on the album should be able to stand alone," he says. "No fillers."

Before Franz hit the studio, they will return to the U.S. in September, bringing along British buzz band the Futureheads. "They're amazing," Hardy says of the quartet. "I saw them a month ago in Glasgow at this working man's club. Everyone in Glasgow was squeezed into this tiny little room."

Franz Ferdinand tour dates:

9/9: New York, Roseland Ballroom
9/10: Philadelphia, Electric Factory
9/11: Carrboro, NC, Cat's Cradle
9/12: Atlanta, Masquerade Music Park
9/14: Dallas, Gypsy Tea Room and Ballroom
9/15: Houston, Verizon Wireless Theater
9/17: Austin, Austin City Limits Festival
9/18: Los Angeles, KROQ Inland Invasion
9/19: San Diego, SDSU Open Air Theater
9/22: San Francisco, The Concourse Exhibition Center
9/24: Portland, OR, Crystal Ballroom
9/25: Auburn, WA, White River Amphitheater
9/26: Vancouver, Commodore Ballroom
9/29: Minneapolis, The Quest
9/30: Chicago, Riviera Theater
10/1: Toronto, The Docks
10/2: Montreal, Metropolis
10/3: New York, Roseland Ballroom

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