With their sharply stylish mix of rock and dance music, Franz Ferdinand brought a wry sophistication to indie rock while becoming one of the U.K.’s most popular bands in the early 21st century. The Glasgow-based group arrived in the wake of the early-2000s rock revival, with bands such as the Strokes and the Libertines reminding listeners just how refreshing — and evergreen — hook-driven guitar music could be. While Franz Ferdinand had a kinship with those acts, their lineage also included the arch, angular post-punk of bands such as Wire and the witty, funky jangle of fellow Glaswegians Orange Juice. From the beginning, the group had a flair for translating arty and unexpected concepts and references into widely appealing music and visuals, whether it was the Russian Constructivism-inspired artwork that graced their early releases or the Howlin’ Wolf homage in the guitar solos of 2004’s smash single “Take Me Out.” After laying the groundwork for their sound with that year’s Mercury Prize-winning, platinum-selling, Grammy-nominated debut album Franz Ferdinand, the band soon branched out. On 2005’s You Could Have It So Much Better, they added more detail and nuance to their style, then expanded on the danceable side of their music on albums ranging from the dub explorations of 2009’s Tonight to the sleek disco leanings of 2018’s Always Ascending. The group continued to embellish on their signature sound in the 2020s, dabbling in electro pop and vintage glam influences on the new songs included on 2022’s best-of Hits to the Head.
Prior to forming Franz Ferdinand, singer/guitarist Alex Kapranos played in bands such as the Karelia and Yummy Fur (the latter of which also featured drummer Paul Thomson). In late 2001, and bassist Bob Hardy began working on music together when they met Nick McCarthy, a classically trained pianist and double bass player who originally played drums for the group despite no prior experience as a drummer. The trio had rehearsed at McCarthy’s house for a while when they started playing with Thomson, who felt like playing guitar instead of drums. Eventually, McCarthy and Thomson switched instruments and the band switched practice spaces, moving to an abandoned warehouse that they named the Chateau. Taking their name from the Austro-Hungarian Archduke whose murder sparked World War I (and hoping they’d have a similarly world-changing effect on music), Franz Ferdinand rehearsed at the Chateau and held rave-like events incorporating music and art (Hardy graduated from the Glasgow School of Art, and Thomson also posed as a life model there). The band needed a new rehearsal space once their illicit art parties were discovered by the police, and they found one in a Victorian courthouse and jail.
By mid-2002, Franz Ferdinand had recorded an EP’s worth of material that they intended to release themselves, but word of mouth about the band spread and they signed to Domino in May 2003. Soon after, the band decamped to Malmö, Sweden to work with producer Tore Johansson at Gula Studios. Their spiky debut single “Darts of Pleasure” arrived that September and reached number 44 on the U.K. Singles chart. Franz Ferdinand spent the rest of the year supporting groups such as Hot Hot Heat and Interpol, and in November the Darts of Pleasure EP became their first U.S. release. The following January, the band’s second single Take Me Out became a top five hit in the U.K., propelling them to greater popularity and laying the groundwork for their debut album. Arriving in February 2004, Franz Ferdinand fleshed out the wiry fusion of post-punk and disco of the band’s singles. It hit number three on the U.K. Albums chart and spawned the additional hit singles “The Dark of the Matinée” and “Michael.” In September 2004, the album won the Mercury Prize over such artists as the Streets, Basement Jaxx, and Keane. Franz Ferdinand also fared well internationally, becoming a top 20 hit in Australia and several European countries. In the U.S., the band’s consistent touring and frequent airplay of “Take Me Out” boosted the album to number 32 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart and, ultimately, sales of over a million copies.