I had a greatest hits mentality making this album, says Franz Ferdinand’s Alex Kapranos on new record The Human Fear
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THE Human Fear is unmistakably a Franz Ferdinand record – and they make no excuses for that. The Scottish band’s first studio album in seven years still has their distinctive and unique guitar sound. Singer Alex Kapranos says: “It’s good to sound like Franz Ferdinand — it is liberating and I feel comfortable with the identity of the band.
![[Franz Ferdinand band promotional photo.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/15ff921a-7105-45be-88c2-6701817fd206.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
“Making this record, I was forced to go back and listen to what we had done before. And it felt good. “Many of the artists we love always stay true to their identity like Nick Cave and PJ Harvey. “And I love that, when you listen to The Human Fear, every song is unmistakably us.
![[Press photo of the band Franz Ferdinand.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/7e8cede5-9fce-41c5-afd0-8bc3543bec9a_bca081.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
“Starting this record, accepting that it’s good to sound like Franz was liberating, because we also go to places that are very different from previous Franz records and it is easier to do that when you’re comfortable with who you are.”. While their sound is consistent, Kapranos says it is all change behind the scenes since their 2018 album, Always Ascending.
![[Franz Ferdinand band photo.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/a1ef2d6e-2bff-465b-a920-42c4e55e0e97.jpg?strip=all&w=764)
For starters, it is a different line-up. Original drummer Paul Thomson quit suddenly in 2021 and has been replaced by Audrey Tait. Then there is new rhythm guitarist Dino Bardot and keyboard player Julian Corrie, who both joined in 2017. Kapranos also became a dad to a son in May 2023 with his wife French musician Clara Luciani.
![[Franz Ferdinand band promotional photo.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/franz-ferdinand-press-handout-962156471.jpg?strip=all&w=768)
On a video call from his Paris home, he proudly tells me: “I have a wee boy now — he’s 14 months. I found becoming a dad very inspirational. We all have fears in our lives, those big existential fears that strike us when we’re kids or teenagers.
![[Franz Ferdinand band photo.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/ab7cd9f8-b7b2-40fc-bbb4-3d580f9b99fb.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
