LONDON (AP) — 20 years in the past, the Scottish rock band Franz Ferdinand despatched a jolt throughout the music world. They waltzed in stripped-shirts and shortly turned international icons for his or her deliriously hooky songs, hitting a crucial mass within the chant-along singles “Take Me Out” and “Do You Want To.” So much has modified in that point, however the band by no means wavered of their dedication to 2000s indie ebullience. Over the previous few years there’s been a little bit of an indie music resurgence, however for Franz Ferdinand, it by no means went away.
On Friday, they are going to launch “The Human Fear,” their sixth studio album and the primary in seven years, making the tip of the longest break between full lengths of their profession.
Frontman Alex Kapranos says the album tackles relationships forming and breaking down. “The title is a clue to the scene,” he teases. “But it wasn’t written to the theme, at least not consciously.”
In an interview with The Related Press in London, Kapranos and Franz Ferdinand bassist Bob Hardy mentioned about “The Human Fear,” the resurgence of indie music and the band’s love for Chappell Roan and Charli XCX. Responses have been edited for size and readability.
AP: What’s the story behind “The Human Fear”?
KAPRANOS: The final music that was written, the final lyrics that had been written was (for) the music “Hooked.” It begins off with the road, “I’ve got the fear / I’ve got the human fear.” And I understand that so lots of the songs had an underlying theme of concern to them. However not essentially succumbing to concern, however extra like overcoming concern.
“The Doctor” is in regards to the concern of leaving an establishment, and “Bar Lonely” is the concern of leaving a relationship. “Night or Day” is the concern of committing to a relationship. However concern is fascinating as a result of concern is common. All of us expertise concern. All of us expertise the identical fears. However how we reply to it’s particular person. And that’s how we discover who we’re, our personalities. And overcoming concern feels good. That’s why we watch horror movies or experience rollercoasters — since you overcome concern after which really feel very alive for having finished so.
AP: The most recent single, “Audacious,” offers with concern as effectively.
KAPRANOS: The music begins off addressing that feeling that all of us have typically, which is, , you’re feeling that your life is collapsing round about you for one motive or one other. It may very well be a relationship that’s disintegrating. Typically, it’ll go that issues are inclined to occur to you (all) without delay. The connection begins going south in addition to your skilled life. And then you definately understand that the washer leaked and your basement’s flooded and simply all that sort of annoying stuff. Your telephone will get nicked or no matter. And it may be overwhelming. And also you simply, you have got this sense of concern that, “Gosh, everything’s collapsing.”
I assume I used to be feeling somewhat bit like that once I was writing the music for one motive or one other. And I believed, “What am I going to do?” … I’m simply going to do one thing astonishingly audacious. I’m going to enter it with an audacious angle and get via it that kind of manner. And don’t blame anyone else for it as effectively. Like, personal the accountability of overcoming the concern myself.
AP: Has your writing course of modified?
KAPRANOS: We’re not one in all these sorts of bands that may sit down and say, “Right, we’ve got two months to write an album. ” For me, you’re at all times writing, you’re at all times developing with concepts. And so, on this album, there’s concepts that had been written within the studio actually the day earlier than it was despatched off to be mastered. And there’s additionally concepts … I feel the oldest thought is the bassline (of) one of many songs, which is from 1995.
I feel the best way my mind works is like in the event you think about going into the workplace of a college’s eccentric professor that’s scattered with bits of paper. It’s all sort of like catastrophic, organizational hell, however they know precisely the place all the pieces is. That’s what my mind is like with bits of concepts and bits of songs and stuff like that. I do know the place they’re, and once I want to make use of them, they’ll come out.
HARDY: And the present has turn out to be the reward for making information, to me. All of it sort of focuses enjoying it dwell in entrance of an viewers and seeing individuals react to it within the second. Whenever you launch a file, you don’t see individuals hearken to it at residence. You understand, the best way you sort of get the response is these dwell reveals.
AP: What do you consider the present resurgence of indie?
HARDY: It’s by no means gone away.
KAPRANOS: There was a interval within the late-2000s the place there was level of saturation the place, like, you turned on any mainstream radio present and also you heard nothing however indie bands. And when it turns into that saturated, perhaps the standard management goes down barely. After which when that occurs, there’s at all times a response to it. And I feel during the last decade, there’s been a little bit of, “Right, okay, so we’re going to listen to like pure pop instead.” And naturally, there’s some good stuff like Charli XCX. Wonderful. Chappell Roan (is) unbelievable. However there’s lots of stuff that’s perhaps not fairly premier tier as effectively. And I feel there’s been perhaps somewhat little bit of a response to that.
I feel from our perspective, simply, yeah, make the factor that you just love and then you definately’re probably not going to go unsuitable.
