Beloved Alternative Rock Band Announces Return

2025-01-06

Franz Ferdinand

It’s always a great thing when a beloved band releases new music after several years away, and that’s the case with one chart-topping alternative rock band that’s making a comeback after seven years away. – Author: Cat Badra, Photo via The Oriel

It’s always a great thing when a beloved band releases new music after several years away, and that’s the case with one chart-topping alternative rock band that’s making a comeback after seven years away. This band first broke out in the mid-2000s, and now, they’re ready to do it again.

If you’re familiar with the song “Take Me Out,” then you know which band is releasing new music once again.

‘The Human Fear’ Offers ‘Pop-Jugular’ Take on Alternative

Glasgow, Scotland, band Franz Ferdinand are coming up on the release of a new album, “The Human Fear,” on Friday, January 10, so they’re kicking off the new year right way with new music. In advance of the album’s release, on Monday, January 6, the band released a new song, “Hooked,” which marks the latest single from the new set.

“Sliding into midnight, it’s a nighttime prowl of a song,” band members Alex Kapranos stated. “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 are enjoying all kinds of fanfare with their new album, which marks their first studio release since 2018’s “Always Ascending.” Last weekend, the group performed three of their released songs from “The Human Fear”: “Audacious,” “Night or Day” and “Bar Lonely.”

For the recording of this album, Franz Ferdinand worked with producer Mark Ralph, who also produced the band’s 2013 album, “Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action.” The group recorded the new set at AYR studios in Scotland.

“The new album showcases Franz at their most immediate, upbeat and life-affirming, unashamedly going for the pop-jugular in classic Franz style,” a statement from the band promises. They add that, “the 11-songs on The Human Fear all allude to some deep-set human fears and how overcoming and accepting these fears drives and defines our lives.”

Franz Ferdinand’s New Album Has a ‘Fresh’ Sound

“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,” the statement continues.

“The Human Fear” marks a first for the group, since it’s the band’s first studio album with members Audrey Tait and Dino Bardot. The album also “sees Julian Corrie step forward to collaborate with Alex Kapranos and Bob Hardy on song writing and creative duties.” Franz Ferdinand features Alex Kapranos, Audrey Tait, Bob Hardy, Dino Bardot and Julian Corrie.

It’s refreshing to see a band such as Franz Ferdinand continuing to make new music. The mid-2000s were an interesting time in alternative music. The grunge era was long gone, but a lot of “alternative” music sounded like a heavy form of post-grunge. Bands such as Franz Ferdinand, Coldplay and the Killers really stood apart in a music space that was dominated with heavy riffing and pounding rhythms. They had a unique take on what it meant to be alternative and truly provided an alternative to what was out there in the new rock world.

Cat Badra
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Posted by Cat Badra | Alternative, Music, Rock News