Franz Ferdinand The Human Fear

Critic's Take

Franz Ferdinand's The Human Fear is a patchy comeback that nevertheless yields best tracks like “Audacious” and “Tell Me I Should Stay”. The reviewer praises “Audacious” for its pomp, energy and brass counterpoint, calling it genuinely brilliant, while “Tell Me I Should Stay” supplies the record's most heartfelt, melodic moment. Other highlights such as “The Doctor” and “Hooked” show interesting stylistic shifts but are let down by sloppy lyrics or uneven production. Overall, the record flirts with brilliance yet too often reverts to meandering, directionless moments.

Key Points

• “Audacious” is best because it combines pomp, energy, strong drums and brass to achieve genuine brilliance.
• The album's core strengths are strong bass work, moments of melodic heart, and songs that may improve in live settings.

Themes

Critic's Take

In a typically wry and measured tone Ray Finlayson argues that Franz Ferdinand's The Human Fear finds its best moments in concise, slightly sparkling tracks rather than wholesale reinvention. He points to “Audacious” and “Build It Up” as the album's clearest winners, praising the former's self-affirming chorus and the latter's irresistible hook. The reviewer also highlights closing fracas “The Birds” as a welcome burst of post-punk noise, even if it ends too soon. Overall, the piece frames the record as earnest and occasionally thrilling, but too often safe and mid-range compared with the band's peak.

Key Points

• The best song is "Audacious" because its confident chorus and era-bridging riff make it the clearest standout.
• The album's core strengths are theme-driven vulnerable lyrics and occasional sparkling tracks, tempered by safe, mid-range instrumentals.

Themes

Critic's Take

Franz Ferdinand’s The Human Fear feels like a giddy resurrection, and the best songs - notably “The Birds” and “Night Or Day” - supply the album’s urgency and swagger in spades. Rob Sheffield writes with the same celebratory, lived-in relish he uses throughout the review, praising a band that turns tales of misspent youth into sharply angled pop hooks. The record’s high points, from the rembetiko flirt of “Black Eyelashes” to the Roxy-esque drift of “Bar Lonely”, are what make the best tracks on The Human Fear the ones you keep going back to. This is a Franz Ferdinand comeback that rewards starting on Side Two - the best tracks on The Human Fear are the ones that stomp, croon, and make you dance with guilty grins.

Key Points

• “The Birds” is the album’s standout for its reprobate guitar march and a groove reminiscent of 'Take Me Out'.
• The album’s strengths are tight three-minute pop songs that blend indie-sleaze, glam piano, and rembetiko-derived flair.

Themes

Critic's Take

Franz Ferdinand sound defiantly themselves on The Human Fear, where the best songs like “Audacious” and “Hooked” bulldoze between garage grit and glam chorus pomp. The review leans into how “Audacious” announces Franz 3.0 with scratchy garage verses and an echoing chorus, while “Hooked” is named as an album highlight for capturing "the human fear" and midnight obsessions. Lesser nods to “Everydaydreamer” and “The Doctor” show the band balancing noir silk and synth-pop urgency, making these the standout tracks listeners will search for when asking "best songs on The Human Fear". Overall the record is praised as vivacious and unmistakably Franz-y, recommended for those who want the best tracks on The Human Fear delivered with swagger and heart.

Key Points

• ‘Hooked’ is the best song because it is explicitly called the album highlight and encapsulates the record's themes of obsession and fear.
• The album’s core strengths are its confident embrace of band identity, dance-punk revivalism, and a balance of nostalgia and fresh ideas.

Themes

Critic's Take

In his measured, slightly wry voice Eric R. Danton argues that Franz Ferdinand's The Human Fear contains clear highlights, notably “Everydaydreamer” and “Audacious”, which showcase the band's renewed boldness. He foregrounds how Julian Corrie's keyboard textures give songs like “Everydaydreamer” and “Night Or Day” fresh sonic life while Kapranos stretches his voice on “Black Eyelashes” and the theatrical “Audacious”. The review presents the album as sleek and expansive rather than a frantic return to form, and it isolates the best tracks by how they rework the band’s familiar dance-y backbeats and serrated guitar lines. Overall, Danton frames the best songs on The Human Fear as evidence that Franz Ferdinand have found renewal in risk, even if they still carry the long shadow of their debut.

Key Points

• “Everydaydreamer” is the best song because Corrie’s keyboards and Kapranos’ vocal climb give it dynamic payoff.
• The album’s core strengths are its sleek production, expanded keyboard textures, and Kapranos stretching his vocals.

Themes

Critic's Take

The review reads like a knowing shrug: Franz Ferdinand return on The Human Fear with tidy hooks and retro swagger, and the best songs - notably “Audacious” and “The Birds” - show why the band still matters. The writer praises the McCartney-esque chorus of “Audacious” and singles out “The Birds” as the only moment that really wiggles into anxiety, while lamenting that much of the record plays it safe. In that voice of wry distance, the album is praised for amiable craftsmanship even as it is faulted for lacking punkish exhilaration, making the best tracks stand out by contrast.

Key Points

• “The Birds” is the album’s best moment because it injects genuine anxiety and post-punk energy.
• The album’s core strengths are tidy hooks, retro swagger, and amiable character sketches, though it largely plays it safe.

Critic's Take

Franz Ferdinand's The Human Fear finds revitalisation rather than reinvention, with early tracks like “Audacious” and “Hooked” fizzing with ideas and demanding the dancefloor. The Doctor's manic energy and Kapranos's arch delivery keep the band recognisably sharp, making the best tracks on The Human Fear feel immediate and alive. Yet the record falters mid-album, where songs such as “Tell Me I Should Stay” and “Cats” sag into watered-down pastiche, diluting the momentum that opens the record. Overall, the best songs on The Human Fear are those early, chorus-forward numbers that restore some of the band's old spark.

Key Points

• The standout “Hooked” is the album's most immediate, dancefloor-ready triumph.
• The album's core strength is revitalisation through punchy choruses and Kapranos's distinctive delivery, though the middle sag undermines momentum.

Themes

Critic's Take

Franz Ferdinand's The Human Fear thrives most when it recalls the band's early swagger, with tracks like “Audacious” and “Night Or Day” delivering the best moments. The reviewer writes in a measured, slightly sardonic tone, noting that opener “Audacious” feels natural and “Night Or Day” leans hard into the original sound - these are the best songs on The Human Fear because they recapture punch and memorable choruses. Lesser experiments such as “Everydaydreamer” and the later tracks are discussed as uneven, leaving the album feeling a bit lumpen by the close. Overall, the best tracks on The Human Fear reveal why Franz Ferdinand still matter, even if the record as a whole is only intermittently thrilling.

Key Points

• The best song is the opener “Audacious” because it feels natural and recaptures the band’s earlier exuberance.
• The album’s core strengths are moments that revisit the original Franz Ferdinand sound, memorable choruses, and tasteful contemporary touches.

Themes

Critic's Take

There’s a keening immediacy at the heart of The Human Fear, and Franz Ferdinand’s best songs - notably “Audacious” and “Black Eyelashes” - crystalize that pop appetite with theatrical confidence. Robin Murray relishes the band’s leap into risk-taking, praising the preening charm of “Audacious” and the baroque-disco ambition of “Black Eyelashes”. Meanwhile “Night Or Day” is singled out for its tumbling piano and Sparks-like wit, giving the record both daring and instant hooks. The result is a fun, lean album that sounds fresh and vibrant rather than nostalgic.

Key Points

• ‘Black Eyelashes’ is the most ambitious, described as a baroque-disco standout built for festival stomp.
• The album’s core strengths are immediacy, pop appetite, and risk-taking that keep it sounding fresh and vibrant.

Themes

Critic's Take

Franz Ferdinand’s The Human Fear feels like a band trying to age gracefully while occasionally forgetting what made them bracing in the first place. The reviewer singles out “The Birds”, “Audacious” and “Tell Me I Should Stay” as the album’s highlights, praising “The Birds” as "vintage Franz Ferdinand" and calling the opener “Audacious” a successful blend of pop, glam and post-punk. Yet the dominant complaint - slick, overpolished production - saps much of the record’s energy and renders several songs sterile rather than invigorating. The best tracks stand out because they reclaim some grit, hooks and songwriting flair amid an otherwise cautious, tidy collection.

Key Points

• The best song, "The Birds", is praised as "vintage Franz Ferdinand" and rewards listeners with grit and a strong closing.
• The album’s core strength is moments of strong songwriting and hooks, but overpolished production and cautiousness dilute its vitality.

Themes

Critic's Take

What should Franz Ferdinand sound like in 2025? The review answers that on The Human Fear, where the best songs - “Hooked”, “Audacious” and “Night or Day” - marry the band’s angular strut with fresh urgency. Joe Goggins revels in the album’s sonic variety, calling out the disco stomp of “Hooked” as possibly the standout while praising the kinetic thrust of “Audacious” and the renewed energy of “Night or Day”. It’s a record that leans into big choruses and ambition, and those tracks best show why the band still matters.

Key Points

• The disco-stomp of “Hooked” stands out as the album’s high point because it breaks new ground with exuberant production.
• The album’s core strengths are its sonic variety and renewed energy, with big, chorus-driven songs that update the band’s classic strut.

Themes

Critic's Take

If you want to know the best songs on The Human Fear, Rachel Aroesti’s eye falls on the opener and the 70s-tinged moments even as she scolds the band for losing its bite. Franz Ferdinand start promisingly: “Audacious” opens with Kapranos muttering over a pleasingly grainy riff, but it is undercut by a sweeping, plodding chorus that undercuts its ambition. Tracks such as “Bar Lonely” and “Tell Me I Should Stay” channel 70s glam to pleasant, if unremarkable, ends, which makes them among the album’s most listenable moments despite their tame execution. The review implies that while these songs stand out as the best on The Human Fear, they do so by default rather than by recapturing Franz Ferdinand’s old spark.

Key Points

• The best song is effectively the opener, “Audacious”, because it shows promise with a grainy riff even as the chorus collapses its momentum.
• The album’s core strength is its ability to conjure pleasant 70s glam pastiche, though it lacks the bite and vitality of the band’s earlier work.

Themes