Franz Ferdinand: The Human Fear review – more revitalisation than reinvention

A sparkling 2015 collaboration with Sparks aside, Franz Ferdinand’s career has felt like an exercise in diminishing returns, each successive album slightly less interesting than its predecessor. Seven years on from the paradoxically titled Always Ascending, their sixth set finally bucks that trend. Part of that could be down to an infusion of fresh blood, with frontman Alex Kapranos and bassist Bob Hardy the only surviving members of the original lineup.

From the opener Audacious on, it’s clear that revitalisation rather than reinvention is key, with Kapranos’s distinctive, arch delivery very much retaining centre stage, and the penchant for a big chorus undimmed. Indeed, there’s a long-absent freshness to the first few songs, which simply fizz with ideas: The Doctor possesses a manic energy; the standout Hooked deserves to fill dancefloors. But that early charge isn’t sustained and there’s a distinct sag to the middle of The Human Fear, the likes of Tell Me I Should Stay (its bassline’s unlikely nod to Oxygène-era Jean-Michel Jarre aside) and Cats (seemingly an act of watered-down auto-pastiche) distinctly less engaging. A comeback that’s only fitfully pleasing.