Founding Franz Ferdinand Guitarist Nick McCarthy Has Left The Band

First of all: yep, Franz Ferdinand are still a thing.

The Scottish rockers are actually poised to start working on a brand new album, but it looks like they’ll be doing so without founding member Nick McCarthy.

That’s because the guitarist and keyboardsman is exiting the band to devote more time to his family.

“When we record and tour, it takes a long, full-time commitment lasting a minimum of a year and a half, most of which is spent away from home. Nick has a young family and does not want to be away from them for such a long period,” the group said in a statement.

But they also added that his departure may not “necessarily be a permanent situation and we will let you know if circumstances change in the future”.

So there may be some good news still to come, aside from the fact that FF have a new LP in the works.

Franz Ferdinand’s last album was 2013’s Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action, after which they teamed up with Sparks for supergroup collab FFS last year.

McCarthy himself has also issued a short PSA, thanking fans for their support over the years and explaining that he’d be using his time away from the band to focus on “production and writing some completely different things for a bit”.

Read his – and the rest of Franz Ferdinand’s – full statements below.