Art Brut

By special request, something altogether cheerier from my collection...

Bang Bang Rock & Roll was something of an unexpected pleasure when it arrived. I'd seen Art Brut briefly playing live at Reading and they seemed an enjoyable enough band but when I listened to the album I found it was full of hooks aplenty and some sharp and witty lyrics to boot. Track after track found its mark and by the end of it all you had one of my favourite albums of the year.

I'm not going to waste time talking about which lines in particular put a smile on my face as firstly there are too many of them and secondly I wouldn't want to spoil your hearing them for the first time. Yes, there are jokes that may wear in time but for now, I'm still enjoying this one.

ART BRUT - BANG BANG ROCK & ROLL

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Album number two has now arrived and while it's perhaps not quite as good as BBR&R it does manage to avoid becoming a woeful sophomore slump (which, more than usual, was a danger for a band like Art Brut - would the joke last?) This time round, the production has been cleaned up a bit but doesn't feel so slick as to have all the edges that made their debut so endearing taken off. The lyrics haven't suddenly become mature and serious throughout and mostly show further evidence of lead singer Eddie Argos's love of good pop music. I suppose I can in my castigation of most modern pop forget that there are some simply great pop songs out there that deserve just as much praise as anything else from the more rock-based end of the spectrum, not least some of the ones Art Brut are writing. While they may not be as amusing as those from their debut, that's chiefly a complement to the former album.

ART BRUT - IT'S A BIT COMPLICATED

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