In the four or five times that I’ve listened to The Human Fear, the latest album from Franz Ferdinand, since it was released on January 10, I keep going back to one song. “Black Eyelashes” is the band’s take on rembetiko (also spelled rebetiko), a style of Greek music that was particularly popular in the first half of the 20th century, and I’m hooked on it.
It’s sounds like there have been a Greek influence on Franz Ferdinand’s music from the get-go. I can’t really pinpoint exactly what it is, but something in the guitar tones and the rhythms they use has struck me as very eastern Mediterranean since I first heard “Take Me Out” 20+ years ago. On, “Black Eyelashes,” though, the influence is so blatant that you might start imagining that final dance scene in Zorba the Greek. I did.
Alex Kapranos talks about rembetiko and the point of “Black Eyelashes” in an interview with Stereogum. “That song is me attempting to find my Greek identity and failing, and kind of addressing the situation,” he says. It’s a good interview, but that section in particular resonated with me, on account of being an American-Armenian who can’t speak the language but does enjoy digging through the bins for kef jams.
Franz Ferdinand kicks off The Human Fear in a way that you might expect from the Scottish band. “Audacious,” the album’s power pop opener, is quickly followed by the indie dance floor-friendly “Everydaydreamer.” But, their sixth album throws the first of several curveballs with its third song, the spirited synthpunk jam, “The Doctor.” It’s not a song that’s completely without precedent in the band’s catalog, but “The Doctor” sounds more in line with FFS, their 2015 collaboration with Sparks, than Franz Ferdinand on their own. Meanwhile, the electro-rock “Hooked” is reminiscent of various remixes of Franz Ferdinand songs that have dropped over the past two decades. And the use of piano, particularly on songs like “Night or Day,” “Tell Me I Should Stay” and “Bar Lonely” is more pronounced than it typically is on their albums.
What is most interesting about The Human Fear is that the band takes a bunch of elements that have been lurking around in their work for years and builds on them. If you’re a longtime Franz Ferdinand fan, then you’ll probably pick up on that while listening to the album. But, if you’re only familiar with the Hits to the Head, then tunes like “The Doctor,” “Hooked” and, certainly, “Black Eyelashes,” might not make much sense until you go back and listen to the rest of their catalog.
As for my DJ take: “Everydaydreamer” is what I’ve started playing in my club sets. It’s a good mid-tempo jam that works earlier in the night.”Black Eyelashes” is absolutely my favorite song on the album, but it’s a little two slow for the places where I play, so I’ll keep that on reserve for bar gigs.
Liz O. is an L.A.-based writer and DJ. Read her recently published work and check out her upcoming gigs.
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