Franz Ferdinand Announce Sixth Album 'The Human Fear', Confirm 2025 UK And European Tour
Wednesday, 11 September 2024
Written by Stereoboard
Franz Ferdinand have announced their sixth studio album.
'The Human Fear' will arrive through Domino Records on January 10, following up 2018's 'Always Ascending' and their 2022 greatest hits LP, 'Hits To The Head'.
The record will be the band's first studio release to feature members Audrey Tait on drums and Dino Bardot on guitar, and also saw their keyboard/synth player Julian Corrie collaborating for the first time with frontman Alex Kapranos and bassist/backing vocalist Bob Hardy for the songwriting process.
It was recorded at AYR Studios in Scotland and produced by Mark Ralph, who previously worked with the Glasgow indie-rock stalwarts on 2013's 'Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action'. Kapranos 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."
As a preview, the Scottish quintet have shared the upbeat first single and opening track, Audacious. Head below to view the song's accompanying video, directed by long-time collaborator Andy Knowles and filmed at Barrowland in Glasgow. Kapranos continued:
"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: "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."
Franz Ferdinand will support the LP a European tour in early 2025, which will include UK shows at the O2 Shepherds Bush Empire in London on March 5 and Glasgow Barrowland on March 7. Tickets go on general sale at 10am local time on September 20.
Prior to that, they'll also play three dates in Scotland later this month. Tickets for those gigs are already on sale.
'The Human Fear' tracklist:
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
Franz Ferdinand Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows
Thu September 26 2024 - STRATHPEFFER Spa Pavilion
Fri September 27 2024 - STIRLING Albert Halls
Sat September 28 2024 - DUMFRIES Venue
Fri February 14 2025 - LISBON Aula Magna (Portugal) [NEW]
Sat February 15 2025 - A CORUÑA Sala Pelicano (Spain) [NEW]
Mon February 17 2025 - MADRID La Riviera (Spain) [NEW]
Tue February 18 2025 - BARCELONA Razzmatazz (Spain) [NEW]
Thu February 20 2025 - MILAN Fabrique (Italy) [NEW]
Fri February 21 2025 - ZURICH X Tra (Switzerland) [NEW]
Sat February 22 2025 - MUNICH Muffathalle (Germany) [NEW]
Mon February 24 2025 - BERLIN Huxleys Neue Welt (Germany) [NEW]
Tue February 25 2025 - WARSAW Progresja (Poland) [NEW]
Thu February 27 2025 - PARIS La Cigale (France) [NEW]
Fri February 28 2025 - COLOGNE Die Kantine (Germany) [NEW]
Sat March 01 2025 - ANTWERP De Roma (Belgium) [NEW]
Mon March 03 2025 - AMSTERDAM Paradiso (Netherlands) [NEW]
Wed March 05 2025 - LONDON O2 Shepherds Bush Empire [NEW]
Fri March 07 2025 - GLASGOW Barrowland [NEW]
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