Full disclosure: Art Brut Vs. Satan, the third long-player from English/German rock combo Art Brut, features a track entitled "DC Comics & Chocolate Milkshakes." Your humble reviewer also counts DC Comics and chocolate milkshakes as amongst his very favorite things. This makes it hard to be objective.
Fortunately, Art Brut aren't the type of band to inspire objectivity. Fronted by hipster geek Eddie Argos and boasting some of the tightest guitar licks on record today, Art Brut Vs. Satan sticks closely to the band's patented approach. The production by former Pixie Frank Black is perhaps only evident in the record's actual sound, which is a bit more low-fi and murky than previous outings.
Argos and company simply move the ball forward down the field, creating 4-minute snapshots and observations of the idiocy of the pop charts, the joys of public transportation, and the aforementioned comics and frozen beverages.
"I wanted rock 'n' roll, I got a science museum," says Argos on "Lights Out!" and that's both a dismissive and descriptive way to capture what Art Brut does. Argos' lead vocals amount to energetic spoken-word pieces set to the band's incredibly tight guitar riffs and rhythm section. Left to essentially carry the burden of melody by Argos' talk-sing vocal stylings, the rest of the band responds with muscle and dexterity; you wouldn't think of Art Brut as a "catchy" band, but damn if those guitar riffs don't implant themselves into your brain after a few listens.
Let's take a moment, in fact, and just praise the non-Argos elements of Art Brut to the rawk gawds: Jasper Future and Ian Catskilkin on guitar, Freddy Feedback on bass, and Mikey B on the skins. A quick skim of articles about the band inevitably focus on Argos' lyrical stylings, and he's a tremendous songwriter, descended from the Jarvis Cocker school of embellished confessional. But DAMN! This whole band rocks the shit out of shit. They deserve some credit too.
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