Customer Reviews

It's a Bit Complicated

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

These guys are awesome! Witty lyrics...great riffs...powerful power chords...lots of fun. I laughed out loud at the lyric, "Is it so wrong to break from your kiss to turn up the pop song?" from the song 'Pump Up The Volume'. Sort of reminds me of a cross between XTC and Weezer...even a little bit Ian Dury. This is a smart band. I strongly recommend this CD.

I can't really speak to the Franz comparison, but I can say that the Eddie's monologues seemed to have evolved a bit over the previous album and are undeniably relatable; especially to anyone struggling in a relationship (tracks, "Post Soothing Over" and "Jealous Guy" come to mind here). Eddie Argos is an "everyman" in the truest sense, and his lyrics exude an authenticity unsurpassed by any Brit-pop band in recent memory.

On the whole, there are some great riffs here too. Overall, this is one of the best albums of '07 and well worth your time - although a bit brief. If Art Brut continues to release albums keeping in form with the previous two, keep them coming.

Art Brut are just so darn lovable. Any band that rejoices at their own existance has gotta be special.

That fact is reinforced in their second album "It's A Bit Complicated," which is crammed with more of their exuberant art-punk-poppery. It doesn't stray far from their first album's mold, but them it doesn't really need to -- their energetic, quirky little songs are more than enough fun.

After a bunch of "woo hoo hoo hoos" and a little tap on the bass, the opening song unfurls into a sprightly, punky little rock song. "We've taken our clothes off, in the wrong order/And you're leaving your shoes to make you look taller," Eddie Argos muses, contemplating the perils of teen nookie. "I know I shouldn't/And it's possibly wrong/To break from your kiss/To turn up a pop song..."

Having roped you in with the catchy stuff, Art Brut turns their attention to fast-paced rockers like "Direct Hit" ("Move around like your shoes don't fit!", which are equal parts indie-rock and catchy danceable stuff -- some builds perpetually up to a peak, some bounces all over, and some rushes forward in tight, high-octane blurs.

It winds right down to the brilliant last few songs -- "Nag Nag Nag" is an ideal blend of indie-rock grittiness and dancy exuberance, and "Jealous Guy" sounds like an amped-up version of a classic Britpop song. The album ends, but it doesn't slow at all.

Perhaps the most appealing thing about Art Brut is that they always sound just serious enough to make brilliant music, but not so serious that they don't sound like they're having huge quantities of fun. "It's A Bit Complicated" doesn't change much, but it does continue doing what they do best, with a bit of new polish.

The music basically rides on a wave of blazing bass guitar and nimble electric guitar riffs, tightly wound together into fast-moving melodies. They can make it cycle, blaze, buzz, smash and blast in brief spurts (look at "Late Sunday Evening"). And Mikey B produces some nice drums to ground the rapid-fire guitars, although he's a bit drowned out in some songs.

Argos tends to speak rather than really sing, in his warm, rough voice. For most artists, this would sound like a guy covering an inability to sing, but with Argos it just sounds conversational and quirky ("Sorry if my accent's flawed/I learnt my German from a 7 inch record").

And the songs he sings are full of witty lines and laddish woes -- "I Will Survive" is basically an ode to slob dorm living, and "Jealous Guy" is the lament of a guy feeling threatened by his ex-girlfriend's exes, and her lack of intimacy with him ("You're asleep, I wish I was too/But I can't because I've got something to prove/I tried to wake you with a really loud cough/I accidentally set your alarm clock off...")

"It's a Bit Complicated" doesn't really expand Art Brut's sound, but it's more lovable laddish indie-rock from a band that is almost too endearing. Definitely worth getting.

Art Brut's second album, It's A Bit Complicated, hit the streets June 26th. Judging from the five song EP, it won't disappoint the multitude of fans won over by their debut album, Bang Bang Rock & Roll. Known for his shrewd self awareness, front man Eddie Argos and his crew have done it again. Mixing talk/stylized vocals, smart verbosity and catchy melodies, Art Brut will satisfy your longing for intelligent upbeat music. It's A Bit Complicated is deceptively simplistic; its perfectly crisp songs are multi-layered concentrated pop energy.

The EP features "Pump up the Volume," where Argos asks, amidst clever background vocals and guitar riffs, if it is bad taste to stop making out in order to turn up a pop song. "Direct Hit" is a rowdy rock number that you wish the DJ would play instead of the multitude of bad danceable tracks. "Post Soothing Out" is more vulnerable about a failing relationship. It hinges on the wit that characterizes the band's lyrical approach when referencing John and Yoko and remarking that "every day is just like starting over." "Late Sunday" is instrumentally diverse with an appearance of horns and xylophone, displaying the range of Art Brut's creativity and are hopefully an indication of their future as a band. "Nag Nag Nag Nag" is a frenzied tale of "adolescent concerns" from the brooding teenage perspective that recalls youthful rebellion.

It's A Bit Complicated is Art Brut a bit more grown up, maintaining a mature perspective amid a swell of pop rock enthusiasm. These songs will inevitably infect your brain and you will find yourself singing them - with a British accent, of course.

I picked up this album a few days before a family vacation in 2009 and it has never left my MP3 player. Absolutely fantastic music, exactly what I've been looking for.

Hey, a new Franz Ferdinand album? Oh wait, it's Art Brut. Seriously, can it get any closer? I guarantee you play "Pump the Volume" to the average Franzie and he'll swear up and down that it's gotta be them. Even the vocal inflection sounds ridiculously alike. It may seem unfair to criticize Art Brut for sounding like Franz Ferdinand (and Bloc Party, for that matter) when Franz borrowed heavily from all sorts of other groups...and the fact that all these acts sprang up at roughly the same time. But the UK is so full of these bands now that someone needs to stop them. Preferably now because in about twenty minutes I'm going to be sick of all of `em.

As the Art Wave continues to roll dominant over the post-punk/garage rock niche, Art Brut does what they gotta do even while they sound like a band just formed last Tuesday. They even had a 2004 single called "Formed a Band," like it was done on a whim based on the artsy post-punk that was on the sharp rise. Oh, and that mildly enjoyable but not particularly distinguishable record is better than anything on this sophomore full-length. That they would take the "too clever to be clever" modus operandi as far as this (and on much of the slightly fresher Bang Bang Rock & Roll) is the very reason why they have no chance of surviving for much longer. I would mourn them if I would actually miss them. Meat is meat, but well-done ain't rare. It's a Bit Complicated is medium, boiled and left to dry under a heat lamp most of the way through, though they find some bloody goodness on parts of "St. Pauli" and "Late Sunday Evening." Even "I Will Survive" manages a rolling beat that chugs along nicely beneath the sharp blasts. Too bad a lot of the rest is stringy and grey.

"Pump Up the Volume" has the same sort of snarky humor that Elvis Costello displayed with his similarly titled "Pump It Up," but the latter made you act against the instincts of the lyrics and, well pump it up (not in the way Elvis meant, though). "Volume" floats by with the urgency of drying paint. It's punchy, the almost-bored enthusiasm is marked off, and the rhythm is clearly defined--it just never gels into a sticky melody. And singer Eddie Argos becomes insufferable over the long haul--too jaded to inspire good times, too blank to be a ratty rouser, and almost entirely uncharismatic. The words need more wit and the tempos need more variety.

Franz should be able to do it better...damn it, I did it again. It's unfair really. If Art Brut came first, I might say similar things about the others. Except that Franz does it better, with more style, drollness and hooks, and their, ahem, art is more brutish. This just sounds like the slick knockoff without the properly tuned spirit and energy. Luckily, I'm not disgusted by it, just disinterested. It zips by with neither imprint nor identity. I can't imagine too many could actually hate this stuff, but it's time to move on to something else at this point. After all of these bands and so little change to the formula, the next Franz record is going to automatically sound like crap.

Best cuts: "St. Pauli," "Late Sunday Evening," "Post Soothing Out," "I Will Survive," "Blame It on the Trains"