Franz Ferdinand

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. In 2004 they won the hearts of the music press and public alike - their best-selling, eponymously-named debut album scooping the much-coverted Mercury Music Prize. With choppy, catchy hooks, bohemian tongue-in-cheek lyrics and a fantastic live show, they're a breath of fresh air into the world of the beautiful indie people.

Home Counties combine angular guitar work with furious percussion to create melodically rigid, socially-charged anthems that are both lyrically tongue-in-cheek and scathingly satirical and have toured with the likes of Shame, Sports Team, Hotel Lux and Pip Blom.