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Art Brut epitomizes unconventional rock and roll. The music they make doesn't belong in any real category. They've seemingly discovered their own formula...evoking the kind of quirky realism made popular by bands like The Talking Heads, putting their own spin on it.
It's A Bit Complicated offers much the same clever lyricism as Bang Bang Rock & Roll. The single "Nag, Nag, Nag" illustrates the same youthful confusion and rebellious stupidity in its tale as "My Little Brother". Each time Art Brut talks to you...you feel as if, yeah man...you really are just discovering rock and roll for the first time.
"Ready Art Brut?"
This is the question lead vocalist Eddie Argos asks of his band before they tackle each song they play. Standing on a cluttered stage in front of a crowd full of restlessly hyper people, his arm in the air, eyeballs to the floor, face turned slightly behind him—he's sweaty and smiling. He knows the question he should be asking is really to the crowd:
"Are you ready?"
Are they, a gaggle of nobodies, ready for the genius that is Art Brut? The answer is yes. The crowd has been ready, all lined up and jittery outside Studio B, a new club venue in the back lots of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. They'd probably been psyching themselves out during the long trek from the train station; around the dark corners and past a deserted park, down a few quiet and dead streets. Studio B is almost completely isolated, hanging out back there like an ominous warehouse that sort of looms out of the darkness at you like an oasis of flashing neon lights.
They were ready all through the bizarrely fascinating opener O'Death (http://www.myspace.com/odeath) , a band with more than enough energy in its act to sustain the potent exhilaration in the atmosphere without puncturing it. They are bare-chested, beer-gutted and sweaty men with beards, dirty hair and bare feet. They play loud, booming, hard-core country rock and roll that affectively incorporates the anarchy of the punk sound, managing to pull it off quite nicely despite the strangeness of it all.
O'Death serves up a combustible mash up of warbling melodies evocative of bands such as Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, along with the chaotic fun like that of the experimental Philly rock group Man Man. Their music involves eclectic instrumentation and driving narratives that push you into the spirit of a good ol' fashioned ho-down. It's just plain no-holds-barred fun. With "Only Daughter", "All The World", and "Adelita" to name a few, O'Death is carefree and infectious, pumping a dose of frenetic energy into the crowd that lasts well into and after Art Brut's turn on stage.
When it's his turn, Eddie steps onto stage looking very unassuming and gentlemanly. Dressed like he's just got home from the office where he might have dwelt in a stifling cubicle. And now...he's going to tell you about it. Tell you about his life, his childhood, his relationships and his desires to be somewhere sunny, boozing it up with rock stars. He's no rock star...or so he says...he makes fun of himself and the fact that he doesn't know what to do while he's up there staring out at you. And indeed, he initially demonstrates this uneasy restlessness. Looking around for the mic stand in order to have something to do...only to cast it aside and opt to talk directly to his audience...the kids.
The talking...Argos' steady narrative is skillfully backed by a melodic chorus from his band mates. The drummer, Mikey Breyer, stands while drumming the entire time; despite being under the weather. Guitarist Ian Katskilkin points when he's not strumming away...he points at us, happily trying to absorb our electric energy into the very tips of his forefinger. Freddy Feedback stands legs apart, swaying to and fro with a nice little knowing smile on her face. She is the most serene of the bunch.
Eddie and the Bruts perform songs from the upcoming It's A Bit Complicated with firm vigor emanating from their pores. They have a kick-ass time. Eddie talks about turning up a pop song while making out with his girl in "Pump Up The Volume"...and asks, "Was that rude of me folks?"
He talks mostly about being young...being confused and stupid...wanting to see girls naked and being in love. His sincerity radiates out in waves. The audience feels included, like we're all his mates, discussing these things in his basement with his mix tapes providing the soundtrack to their little film.
The fans feel he likes them. Why not? If a bloke is comfortable enough spending the entire time he's performing on the edge of the stage, on top of the speakers, with his head in lightening equipment, telling strangers about his shortcomings and wagging his finger at the absurdity of it all...This is a lesson kids. It's not rock and roll. We're just talking, right?
Eddie Argos is aware of himself enough to know that he is not a rock star. He's one of us. Jumping down into a crowd of equally sweaty kids who eagerly embrace him as he moshes to his band's own beat proves he is willing to separate himself from the high-class elite; the severely made-up and superficial entities that are today's archetypal rock gods. He's just confused enough to get himself lost in the shuffle...only to reappear giddier and more determined to deliver a good time to all.
By the time Eddie and the Bruts leave the audience in the darkness, chanting "Art Brut, top of the pops!" over and over again until their heads spin....he knows that they know his band rocked the house... and they want more. And wouldn't you know it? He's just gracious enough to give them what they want; regaling them with a supercharged rendition of "Formed A Band".
A message is clearly spelled out by Argos: "Don't listen to rock stars. They aren't real." What's real? The kids. They must have left that place feeling like popular culture no longer applied to them.
Art Brut is currently on a European tour promoting their soon to be released new album It's A Bit Complicated. Here's hoping they hit the Top of those Pops again. Check them out at:
Official: http://www.artbrut.org.uk | Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/artbrut
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