STRIPY shirts, sensible haircuts. Naming yourself after assassinated archdukes of Austria. Not pretending to be thick. Or American. Having a sense of humour.
Writing songs that totally change musical direction after one minute, but somehow end up in the Top Ten, and occasionally singing in German for no apparent reason.
Isn't it great when a British guitar band makes up its own rules, and totally shows up all the uninspired bandwagon-jumping fashion-victim bands out there? Glasgow's Franz Ferdinand have pulled off the rare trick of finding their own distinctive style and sound - despite the obvious art-rock influences on display, from Talking Heads to The Pixies.
Excellent singles Take Me Out and Darts Of Pleasure are still their best songs, and although the dry, wry, precise nature of the music means red-blooded rock thrills aren't really on the agenda, there's more than enough intriguing lyrics, stabbing guitars and sharp melodies to put them way ahead of the pack.
Updated: 09:10 Thursday, February 12, 2004
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