Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Popular culture no longer applies to me, April 23, 2007
There's just something so endearing about a band who announces on their first song: "Formed a band/we formed a band/look at us! We formed a band!" with a mixture of glee and winking confidence.
And it's just the warmup for this enthusiastic, energetic rock band, with their solid, peppy Britpop debut, "Bang Bang Rock & Roll." Their rollicking guitars are so infused with fun and over-the-top rock'n'roll sentiments that it's impossible not to be charmed.
A sizzling riff opens the first song, in which Eddie Argos announces that they've formed a band, and urges people to"Stop buying your albums from the supermarket/they only sell records that have charted." Then he adds with winking charm: "And yes, this is my singing voice. It's not irony, it's not rock & roll -- we're just talking.... to the KIDS!"
Turns out it's only the warmup -- next Art Brut focuses on the jangly, tight rhythms of how "My little brother just discovered rock & roll/There's a noise in his head, and he's out of control!"
From there, they trip off into a joyous round of tight Britpop odes to Emily Kane, bouncy little indiepop, and frolicking rock numbers that twist in on themselves during the catchy chorus. But they also try out some other sounds: the sunny Beach-Boysy pop of "Move to L.A.," and the weirdly ominous ballad "Rusted Guns."
At first, Art Brut sound like any other fun Britpop band. But their album blossoms the more you listen to it -- these lads have a tight grip on their brilliant instrumentation, and they know how to wink at us through their odd, somewhat repetitive lyrics.
The riffs in this album are simply stunning: they ring, buzz, bounce, and sizzle, tightly wound into solid tunes. They're paired with solid basslines and some smashing drums, along with some twisted keyboard and what sounds like stomping feet. Together, they form some deliciously dancy rock tunes, but they're complex enough to never get dull
At first, their lyrics sound kind of simplistic, and in a few songs they are. But listen carefully. They're a lot wittier than that: they take a few humorous jabs at L.A., the music industry, and derivative bands. And they know how to create beautifully over-the-top odes to a first love ("Every girl that I've seen since/looks just like you when I squint"), and the joy of rock'n'roll. Even a song about.... um, performance problems.
In fact, in some songs, they exude the delight of some teenage boys who are getting to have fun out on the town... with girls! In one song, Argos yells out joyously about a new girlfriend, "I've seen her naked.... twice!" Very cute.
Argos himself has a nice voice -- it's pleasantly ordinary, neither too smooth or too rough, and he can sing through quieter songs as well as the rollicking dancier ones. And occasionally he drops out of singing altogether, usually to deliver the best lines: "No more songs about sex and drugs and rock and roll / It's BOOOOORING!"
Art Brut's debut album is a fun, rollicking, laddish album of solid rock'n'roll tunes, delightful lyrics and solid singing. Definite;y a must-buy.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
What? No review yet?..., May 10, 2006
This album is a genuine piece of art rock. It has the attitude of an artist, an masterful insight on the everyday worries of a rock star wannabe, full of dreams and projects that are not "dreamy" but fueled by the old combination of "music, sex and rock and roll". The sound, pure indie rock, distorted guitar and a singing voice so disctinctive that you wont forget after you listed to it once (and BTW, the front man is not singing, almost, is more like he's talking and telling you a short story of the life of a banda that is going to be big!).
Higly recomended, a shame no one has reviewd such a good album yet.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
great album, September 25, 2006
I heard this band last year and have loved them since I heard "Formed A Band." I have seen them play several times. It was one of the most exciting shows I have witnessed. I even saw them when they were on Jimmy Kimmel. This band, along with The Cribs, are among my favorite new UK bands. This record has been out a while in the UK, and is only coming out now in America in July 2006. All the songs are clever stories. "My Little Brother" is about a young person's discovery of music. "Emily Kane" is about lost love. "Rusted Guns Of Milan" is about bad sex. "Modern Art" reminds me of Bongwater. "Good Weekend" is a song about new love. "Bang Bang Rock & Roll" is a song against all these bands trying to be the Velvet Underground. "Moving To LA" is a funny song about dreaming of better places. I was there when Art Brut first played this song in Los Angeles. It was hilarious. All these songs have evolved overtime too. "Bad Weekend" has the great line "Popular culture no longer applies to me." The song "18,000 Lire" is a song about a robbery. This album is more like a set of short stories than a record. The American version of this great album has three more songs. They are a little like Pulp and a little like Bongwater. This is a great album. It has lost none of its power.
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