2004: FRANZ FERDINAND

EW caught Franz Ferdinand's massive '04 SXSW buzz, calling the Scottish bands sound ''riveting, Gang of Four-ish rock.'' The boys from Scotland came together in 2001 and recorded an EP, Darts of Pleasure, which they released after signing to mega-indie Domino in '03. Their self-titled debut album was released just ahead of SXSW, in February '04, and the music video for their hit single from that album, ''Take Me Out,'' won them a Breakthrough Video MTV Award and set them up to perform at the Grammys in '05. In October of that year they released their second album, You Could Have It So Much Better, and have a third due out later this year.