Franz Ferdinand – The Human Fear

There was a time when you couldn’t get around Franz Ferdinand. When Take Me Out was a staple of every indie party where skinny-jeans-wearing hipsters went wild on the dancefloor. But that was long ago.

No doubt, with their self-titled debut in 2004, Franz Ferdinand shaped the great indie rock wave of the new millennium alongside bands like The Libertines or the Arctic Monkeys. And today, the album can easily be considered a classic.

Catchy riffs, a hopping and danceable groove, and Alex Kapranos’ meandering croon always made Franz Ferdinand’s sound attractive. Over time, they began refining their rattling rock sound with more electronic elements, culminating in 2018’s album Always Ascending. However, the album arguably doesn’t hold up to its predecessors.

Now, the Scots return after the longest break between albums with their sixth record: The Human Fear. «On the album, I’m talking about different fears that I’ve seen in other people: fear of social isolation, fear of leaving an institution, fear of leaving or staying in a relationship,» explained Kapranos to NME.

It must be frustrating for the band to have reached such heights with its first record. You’ll always be compared to this out-of-the-gate success, and you must struggle to preserve that legacy. How gracefully age Franz Ferdinand now on their new album?

Well, with a few outrageous exceptions, they dialled back the electronic heavy-handedness of Always Ascending. The Human Fear, a concept album around the titular emotion, seeks many routes to explore the topic. From the boldly stomping Hooked to the dragging, Greek-inspired Black Eyelashes and the Beatles-channelling Audacious.

There are definitely glimmers of brilliance on The Human Fear when Franz Ferdinand excel in what they do best: these rough-around-the-edges and addictively danceable anthems.

However, in some tracks, you hear them trying to cook with the recipe they’ve so perfectly refined but forget to add the spices—something that surprises and gives the taste a new spin.

The result: Franz Ferdinand become their own cover band. Songs like Build It Up, Cats, or The Birds aren’t bad, but they’re also not really exciting in the sense that there’s something new waiting for you.

The Human Fear is, in conclusion, a walk down the middle. Franz Ferdinand often autopilot on their heritage’s safety lane while occasionally stumbling across more experimental routes. That’s all definitely graceful but also a compromise of nostalgia and exploration. If you seek both—great. If only one of those, you’ll be left hungry by the end.

Artist – Title

Release: 10/01/2025

1. Audacious
2. Everydaydreamer
3. The Doctor
4. Hooked
5. Build It Up
6. Night Or Day
7. Tell Me I Should Stay
8. Cats
9. Black Eyelashes
10. Bar Lonely
11. The Birds

Buy on Bandcamp