It’s a bit shocking to realize Art Brut‘s Bang Bang Rock & Roll came out 13 years ago this year, because it sounds like it was recorded yesterday. The wild post-punk / no wave record is bound to be a classic.
“Formed a Band” has Art Brut singing its praises and encouraging the listener to “stop buying your albums from the supermarket. They only sell records that have charted, and Art Brut, we’ve only just started.” Chugging guitars roar almost nonstop throughout it. The funny “My Little Brother” is a great song about worrying your siblings are turning into hipsters with bad taste in music (“…he made me a tape of tootles and B-sides. And every song, every single song on that tape said exactly the same thing. Why don’t our parents worry about us?”).
“Emily Kane” is one of Art Brut’s greatest hits as lead singer Eddie Argos sings an ode to the girlfriend he had when he was fifteen and still misses. “Rusted Guns of Milan” is a funny story about Argos not being able to have sex with a beautiful woman due to him having drank too much (although he claims otherwise), it being too dark, and his mind being elsewhere – perhaps thinking about Emily Kane.
“Modern art makes me want to rock out,” Argos sings on “Modern Art” – a crunchy, squeaky, loud tune about artwork and its effect on him. “Good Weekend” has Argos bragging about a new girl he’s met…or has he? One can’t help but wonder if he’s made up the whole story in an attempt to impress friends or give an excuse for preferring to be alone. It’s a fun garage rock track with a beat you can’t ignore.
“I can’t stand the sound of the Velvet Underground,” Argos sings on the title track (even though the song does devolve into a VU type of riffing by the end). He just wants songs that don’t retread old cliches (“No more songs about sex and drugs and rock and roll. It’s boring.”), even though he and the rest of the band embrace those cliches throughout the whole album. “Fight!” has Argos drunk and ready to take on a bigger, drunker guy outside the pub while his bandmates cheer him on. It’s a punk track in the middle of a no wave album. It’s great.
“Moving to L.A.” has Argos considering a move far away from dreary English weather and “drinking Hennessy with Morrissey on a beach.” It’s a fun send-up of California pretentiousness and rock. “Popular culture no longer applies to me,” Argos sings on “Bad Weekend.” Boy, I can relate to that. Ian Catskilkin‘s guitars hit hard on it, driving the tune to almost a racing speed. Those guitars flow in and out of distortion on “Stand Down” – a track about admitting when you’re wrong. “18,000 Lira” might be a song about touring in Italy. “These Animal Meanwe@r” is a heavy song about bullying that channels Weezer and Pixies. “Really Bad Weekend” is a tale of Argos nearing cheating on his girlfriend, but being rescued by he and / or his near-lover falling asleep instead. “Maternity Ward” ends the album with Argos telling kids in a maternity ward that “everything’s gonna be all right.” I hope he still means that thirteen years later.
It’s a fun, snarky, witty record that rocks harder than you might expect. It heralded good things for the band, who just released a new record last year. They’re also touring again, which is good news for all of us.
Keep your mind open.
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