No, not the actual Archduke, but the band. I briefly mentioned them in a post a while back, but I thought I’d go into a bit more detail.
Their self-titled debut album[1] is one of my most-listened to CDs[2] of the year so far. I first encountered them when they appeared on Later with Jools Holland some time last year.
Then came the first singles - Darts of Pleasure and Take Me Out. Both appealed to me - nice guitar sound, interesting voice, slightly odd lyrics.
Bought the album the day it came out, and woo and indeed hoo, I loved it. They’ve been compared to all manner of things[3], but I’d say they’re closest to New Wave bands like Talking Heads and Blondie than anything more recent. Their basic manifesto is to make music “that girls can dance to”, which is not a bad aim. Boys can dance to it too 
So, on to the album. Highlights for me are:
- Take Me Out, a lost love kind of thing in which the singer appears to be asking the object of his affections to shoot him, and which features the repeated line “I know I won’t be leaving here with you”.
- The Dark of the Matinee - the new single. Fast bits, slow bits, bits you find yourself moving in time to when walking, and a reference to Terry Wogan. What more could you want?
- Michael - possibly the strongest song on the album. “This is what I am, I am a man, so come and dance with me Michael”. Says it all, really…
The rest of the CD is pretty damn good, too. Franz Ferdinand have the potential to be very big. I can’t wait to see what they do next 
[1] One of those phrases you’re apparently supposed to throw around when reviewing albums
[2] Well, I mostly listen to it on my MiniDisc player while walking to and from work, but you get the general idea.
[3] Music journalists have a tendency to describe bands only in reference to other bands. X are the new Y, and so on. Gets a bit irritating after a while….
