After releasing two celebrated albums in quick succession during the heyday of "indie sleaze," new music started to become less of a growing concern for Franz Ferdinand. In fact, The Human Fear, the band's sixth studio album in their 20-year existence, finds the Scottish quintet ending a seven-year hiatus. So, it's strange that their latest would find them sounding so damn lifeless.
Longtime Ferdinand-heads will be relieved to know that the band's performance isn't what necessarily makes this album drag. In fact, bassist Bob Hardy and new drummer Audrey Tait maintain the locked-in groove that defined the band's sound during the dance floor era of indie rock. Album standouts like the proggy "Everydaydreamer" and the slinky "Build It Up" work because of their oversaturated basslines and throbbing kick drums. As itemized in the spoken intro that leads off the album, "Here we go with riff one," the LP is teeming with wandering guitar melodies. This is showcased in the jigsaw rhythm of opener and lead single "Audacious" and the labyrinthine groove of "The Birds," courtesy of vocalist/guitarist Alex Kapranos and new axeman Dino Bardot.
What primarily hampers these 11 songs is Mark Ralph's crystal clean production. After working with the late Philippe Zdar (Hot Chip, Phoenix) for their 2018 return to form, Always Ascending, the band hired Ralph – most notable for his work with EDR maximalists Clean Bandit and Years & Years – to man the boards on The Human Fear. While Kapranos supplies some laser-focused melodies throughout the LP, most notably on the superbly written "Night or Day," much of what customarily makes Franz Ferdinand so appealing is buried deep below layers of Ralph's schlocky production.
It's refreshing to see these seasoned musicians trying to push their sound further, incorporating Eastern rhythms on "Black Eyelashes" and inverting 1960s bubblegum melodies on "Bar Lonely." However, Julian Corrie's (a.k.a. Miaoux Miaoux) keyboard sound is pushed so high up in the mix that it negates such experimentations. Originally intended to add colour to Franz Ferdinand's earlier albums, the keyboard now seems to demand full attention throughout most of these songs. The shouty "The Doctor" comes off so carnivalesque it makes Ray Manzarek sound like Philip Glass, while the thumping "Hooked" could have been the song to revive LMFAO's career.
Although they've unfairly become a footnote in early-2000s rock revival lore, Franz Ferdinand always deserved credit for keeping a level of class throughout their career. The cheque has finally bounced with The Human Fear.