Franz Ferdinand have announced their latest studio album, The Human Fear, set to be released on Friday, 10 January 2025, via Domino. Fans can now watch the video for the album's first single, Audacious.
Produced with Mark Ralph, who previously worked with the band on their 2013 release Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action, the new album promises to showcase Franz Ferdinand at their most immediate, upbeat, and life-affirming. The band embraces their classic style by going for bold pop elements while diving into deep human emotions.
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The album was recorded at AYR Studios in Scotland and features 11 tracks, each reflecting on human fears and how they define and shape our lives. Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand commented:
“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 Audacious, directed by long-time collaborator Andy Knowles, was filmed at Barrowlands in Glasgow, a location that has hosted many of Franz Ferdinand’s iconic ‘homecoming’ gigs. Kapranos said the track:
“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!”
Knowles added that the video was inspired by a sense of celebration, contrasting sombre life moments with bursts of fun through an audacious lens.
Franz Ferdinand’s discography, which includes Franz Ferdinand (2004), You Could Have It So Much Better (2005), Tonight: Franz Ferdinand (2009), Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action (2013), Always Ascending (2018), and Hits to the Head (2022), has cemented their place as one of the biggest UK bands in the world. With 10 million albums sold, 2.5 billion streams, 14 platinum records, and multiple awards, they continue to define and evolve within the music scene globally.
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