Franz Ferdinand Announce ‘The Human Fear’; Debut Lead Single “Audacious”

Franz Ferdinand has announced details of their new studio album, The Human Fear, which will be released on Friday, January 10th, 2025, on Domino. Produced with Mark Ralph, who previously worked with them on their 2013 album Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action, the album showcases Franz at their most immediate, upbeat and life-affirming, unashamedly going for the pop-jugular in classic Franz style. Along with the announcement comes the music video for the first single, “Audacious.”

Recorded at AYR Studios in Scotland, the eleven songs on The Human Fear allude to some deep-set human fears and how overcoming and accepting these fears drives and defines our lives.

Talking about the album, Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand said:

“Making this record was one of the most life-affirming experiences I’ve had, but it’s called The Human Fear. 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. Not that you’d necessarily notice on first listen.”

The video for the first single, “Audacious,” was directed by long-time Franz collaborator Andy Knowles and filmed at Barrowlands in Glasgow, over the years scene of many a celebratory homecoming gig for the band.

Talking about the track Alex added:

“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!”

Director Andy Knowles said about 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 sombre moments of life with an explosion of fun when you look at things through an ‘audacious’ lens.”

Ever since their beginnings, throwing illegal parties in condemned Glasgow buildings, Franz Ferdinand has been defined by a fresh, unfading, forward-facing outlook, a transgressive art-school perspective, but with a love of a big song and The Human Fear undoubtedly continues in this tradition; distinct yet new, musically, and creatively it’s a record eager to push forward.

Pretty much all written before they hit the studio, the idea was to have a songbook ready before they started recording and once in the studio, it was all quickly executed, a lot of it was recorded live with the band in the room and many of the vocals on the album being the original takes.

The first studio album to feature members Audrey Tait (drums) and Dino Bardot (guitar), the record also sees Julian Corrie step forward to collaborate with frontman Alex Kapranos and bassist Bob Hardy on songwriting and creative duties.

A band for whom the aesthetic and style are almost as important as the sound, as ever the importance of this is reflected in the cover artwork which was inspired by Hungarian artist Dóra Maurer’s self-portrait 7 Twists. Maurer’s work appealed because it does exactly what they want from their music: a striking immediacy that is impossible to ignore, but with a depth and vulnerability that bears many returns and satisfactory repetition.

Franz Ferdinand ‘The Human Fear’ album artwork

The Human Fear Track Listing:

1. Audacious
2. Everyday Dreamer
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

The Human Fear will be available on LP, Deluxe LP, CD, and Digital and can be pre-ordered HERE.