Russell HughesArt Brut – Wham! Bang! Pow! Let’s Rock Out! (Alcopop! Records)
Are they a cult band or are they just a fad that never took off? Whatever you think, Art Brut are back and alive again on Wham! Bang! Pow! Let’s Rock Out!
Either way, frontman Eddie Argos is on top form as he brings his slightly bitter, slightly nuanced, slightly inward looking brand of post-punk pop rock to the masses once again.
For a man who nearly died before releasing this album, Argus devotes very little time to introspection or voicing his near death experience.
Instead Art Brut concentrate on the little aspects of life that bring joy, sadness or just go hand in hand with existence. Schwarzfahrer is a song about not paying for public transport, although it does briefly touch on obsessive compulsive behaviour.
Hospital is the only track that goes over that nearly deadly Peritonitis infection, but it does so with a tongue in cheek atmosphere and features his band mates moaning about how sanctimonious Argos’s new healthy lifestyle will be.
There have been seven years between albums and that’s because, says the singer, he wanted to live a little before writing something new. And for those older Art Brut fans that may come as a surprise coming from a band who’ve always got something to say or a funny story to tell.
But there you have it. And whether Art Brut are celebrating their revival on Hooray or laughing at their own strange status and a ‘lead singer who doesn’t really sing’ on Kultfigur, they’re always looking for that next groove.
Buried alongside those little smirks, twists of words and a rye sense of humour is a recipe for success and an acknowledgement that the rest of the band are way more than just Argos.