In January, Franz Ferdinand released their new studio album, The Human Fear, via Domino.
Franz Ferdinand is now on a USA tour, and they perform live at The Anthem in DC on Monday, April 7!
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 first single “Audacious” was directed by long-time Franz collaborator Andy Knowles and filmed at Barrowland in Glasgow, over the years the 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.”
Watch the official music video for “Audacious” by Franz Ferdinand on YouTube:
Ever since their beginnings, throwing illegal parties in condemned Glasgow buildings, Franz Ferdinand have 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 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 and Dino Bardot, the record also sees Julian Corrie step forward to collaborate with Alex Kapranos and Bob Hardy on song writing and creative duties.
A band for whom the aesthetic and style is 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.
Maybe this is a set of songs about fear, maybe this is a set of bangers from an era-defining band continuing their unquestionably living legacy. Is that something to be afraid of?
Franz Ferdinand
W/ Telescreens
The Anthem
Monday, April 7
Doors @ 6:30pm
$45
All ages
