- 2025-01-15
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MUSIC
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Franz Ferdinand Releases New Album “The Human Fear”
Scottish rock band Franz Ferdinand, consisting of Alex Kapranos (lead vocals/lead guitar), Bob Hardy (bass), Julian Corrie (keyboards), Dino Bardot (rhythm guitar) and Audrey Tait (drums), released their sixth studio album “The Human Fear” on January 10, 2025 via Domino Recording.
The album is their first LP in seven years since the 2018 album “Always Ascending” and is the first release with new drummer Audrey Tait, who replaced original member Paul Thomson in 2021.
The album comprises 11 songs, produced by Mark Ralph, who previously served as a mixer and recording engineer on the band's fourth studio album “Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action”.
Co-written by Alex Kapranos, Bob Hardy, Julian Corrie, and Dino Bardot, and they touched on existential worries about fatherhood, identity, and love.
The album concept is searching for the thrill of being human via fears.
The band lead singer Alex Kapranos said, “Fear reminds you that you’re alive. I think we all are addicted in some way to the buzz it can give us. How we respond to it shows how we are human. So here’s a bunch of songs searching for the thrill of being human via fears.”- Alex Kapranos told Hanuman Welch of Apple Music about the album, “I think we all have fears within us and fears that we confront in our life at different times. And how we react to those fears is how we learn who we are really. And fear is not necessarily a bad thing either. Fear is associated with some of the greatest things you do in your life. Think about asking somebody out on a date: There's quite a lot of fear that you have to overcome to do that. Yeah, no. I think it's a fascinating insight into who we are.”
Bassist Bob Hardy said, “We made sure that the songs were bangers first and foremost. And then we got the band together and learned them. And a lot of the album's recorded live, so it's the live sound of the band really tearing into it, and I think it gives the whole record a really exciting feel. It sounds like we're having fun, and we were having fun making it.” -
The band explained about some tracks for the album.
“Audacious”
“It's about having an audacious response when you feel the fabric of existence come undone around you. Being bold, contrary. Peering over the edge into the eternity of non-existence and saying, 'Aye! Fuck it! Not today, thank you!'.
In some ways, it is more audacious musically than some of the things we might have done in the past. The verses are very dry and kind of lo-fi, then it hits with the chorus. The song is a contrast between the two: the verses are quite introspective and stark, where the choruses are an overtly audacious response to that - both musically and lyrically.”
Director Andy Knowles said of the video, “After listening to 'Audacious' for the first time it immediately felt like a song which needed a celebration of a video. I wanted to build on the jocular approach we took for 'Curious' in 2022, contrasting some of the more somber moments of life with an explosion of fun when you look at things through an 'audacious' lens.”
“Hooked”
“Sliding into midnight, it's a nighttime prowl of a song. If we all have the human fear, then that's alright when you're hooked. I thought I knew what love was... but then I met you.”
Franz Ferdinand “Build It Up”
“Night Or Day”
“Life may never be easy, but damn, we'll make sure we live it up night or day. Night into day. We collaborated with the hugely talented Rianne White to capture the Drama-Noir of the environment where we recorded this and the rest of the LP. She has a sensitivity and energy which exploded into that space, giving a glimpse of the world where we made the music. Storm shake the room and boom... the dark heart of Scotland beats strong. Filmed entirely on location at AYR Studios.”
Director Rianne White said of the video, “This song emulates the turbulent, transcendent immensity of feelings that live and breathe within four walls. Born with Franz Ferdinand in their Scottish studio, where they recorded this beauty, 'Night or Day' was a powerful meeting of visual and sound, all caught in the eye of 16mm black and white film. These are the storms we dance in!” - source : Apple Music
