Sounds familiar? It’s been done before, you say? Sure it has. So why does it work?
Argos is disarmingly cocky, witty, arrogant and irreverent, that's why. And through it all, he is so believable and convincing that he makes Daryl Palumbo of Glassjaw and Head Automatica sound like a Cub Scout struggling to earn that Webelos badge. Argos doesn’t demand attention with over-enunciating or over-modulating: he’s just a disarmingly clever guy. By the time you make your way through the watershed singles “I Will Survive” and “Sound of Summer” (which feature some great guitar work and solid musicianship), you realize that this band might just be nothing without Mr. Personality Plus.
Just like The Darkness couldn’t go on without Justin Hawkins, Art Brut begins and ends with Argos. All of which begs the question: What’s the shelf life on this Art Brut anyway? In all likelihood, not much longer than Fruit Brute cereal. The band will surely buckle under the weight of popularity, if not under the dreaded UK rock mag principle of naming the band’s successor in time for the holiday shopping season. I've got 20 one-handed push-ups that says so.
Truth is, confidence is very sexy. And so is It's a Bit Complicated. Longevity? Now that's really complicated. And another thing altogether.
Article comments
1 - Connie Phillips
Congrats! This article has been forwarded to the Advance.net websites and Boston.com.