Art Brut
Bang Bang Rock & Roll
Play Bang Bang Rock & Roll
-
AMG Review of Bang Bang Rock & Roll
Heather Phares
All Music Guide"Formed a Band" was such a brilliant first single, and summed up Art Brut's aesthetic so perfectly, that there almost seemed to be no need for more songs from them. Driven by a jagged, ragged guitar riff, it sounded like it was thrown together in ten minutes tops, and had lots of great, quotable lyrics ("I wanna be the boy -- the man -- who writes the song/That makes Israel and Palestine get along"), which were held together and topped off by Alfred Molina look-alike Eddie Argos' speak-singing -- which he informed his listeners wasn't irony, and wasn't ock & roll. Actually, it's both, and there's a lot more of both on Bang Bang Rock & Roll, an album whose title kills and celebrates ock & roll at the same time. "Formed a Band," which appears here in a slightly more polished version than the original Rough Trade single, is still Art Brut's calling card, but the album has plenty of nearly-as-great songs to choose from. Chief among them is "Emily Kane," a plea Argos wrote to find his lost teenage sweetheart. He doesn't just pine for her, though, he wants "school kids on buses singing [her] name." Truly brilliant in its sweet simplicity -- especially on the breakdown, where he lists, to the second, exactly how long it's been since he's seen Emily -- it's an incredibly vivid distillation of how large your first love looms in your memory. On the album's title track, Art Brut return to "Formed a Band"-style, tongue-in-cheek meta-punk: while Argos snarls, "I can't stand the sound of the Velvet Underground!" the backing vocals chime in "White light! White heat!" and a John Cale-like violin screeches in the background. While all this irony could be suffocating, there's a pure, unadulterated joy underneath most of Art Brut's best songs that prevents their witty stance from becoming too clever-clever; the way Argos roars, "I've seen her naked twice!" about his new girlfriend on "Good Weekend" feels entirely genuine. Indeed, a lot of Art Brut's appeal lies in Argos' way with storytelling, whether he's singing about impotence ("Rusted Guns of Milan"), drinking Hennessey with Morrissey ("Moving to L.A."), or indulging his fascinations with Top of the Pops or Italy ("18,000 Lira"). Though it runs out of steam slightly (at least in comparison to the pop art brilliance of the band's best songs) on its second half, Bang Bang Rock & Roll is a terrific debut, and Art Brut are smart, catchy, and fun -- everything you could want in a band, even if they do sound like they formed ten minutes ago.
Say my name, say my name
-
Artist:
-
Album:
-
Track:
So I was singing Emily Kane in my head this morning while brushing my teeth and I thought, Man, it must be cool to be THE Emily Kane. Even further, just to be named Emily Kane in general. No song has ever had William Harle, or any variation of that, from what I know. But I know that cannot be the case for everyone's name. Some of you are cool or lucky enough to be blessed with music inclusion.S...
More >
"Stay - off - the crack!"
-
Artist:
-
Album:
My workplace has started playing Christmas music nonstop. And bad music, that's the thing. I mean, I have some Christmas music in my collection, but we're talking Conor Oberst singing "Blue Christmas," selections from Death Cab, Ron Sexsmith, the Eels, Guster's adorable "Donde Esta Santa Claus?", and my all-time favorite - "Christmas Wrapping" by the Waitresses. I am not a scrooge. I know h...
More >
I'm free at last!
-
Artist:
-
Album:
-
Track:
"Popular culture no longer applies to me"And to quote another song, "and I feel fine."Whew! Good riddance!
More >
I'm free at last!
-
Artist:
-
Album:
-
Track:
"Popular culture no longer applies to me"And to quote another song, "and I feel fine."Whew! Good riddance!
More >
Not Abducted By Aliens
-
Artist:
-
Album:
-
Track:
Oh, dear, I seem to have been silent here for, um, almost a month. Sorry about that. Did you miss me? Can we just take all the usual excuses - busy at work, no time to listen to much new music, _really frickin' lazy_ - as read?But O, my moggly Moglings, I have been to the promised land and found many treasures. Of course, I always find out after I make these discoveries that the Kewl Kidz were
More >
"Stay - off - the crack!"
-
Artist:
-
Album:
My workplace has started playing Christmas music nonstop. And bad music, that's the thing. I mean, I have some Christmas music in my collection, but we're talking Conor Oberst singing "Blue Christmas," selections from Death Cab, Ron Sexsmith, the Eels, Guster's adorable "Donde Esta Santa Claus?", and my all-time favorite - "Christmas Wrapping" by the Waitresses. I am not a scrooge. I know h...
More >
Say my name, say my name
-
Artist:
-
Album:
-
Track:
So I was singing Emily Kane in my head this morning while brushing my teeth and I thought, Man, it must be cool to be THE Emily Kane. Even further, just to be named Emily Kane in general. No song has ever had William Harle, or any variation of that, from what I know. But I know that cannot be the case for everyone's name. Some of you are cool or lucky enough to be blessed with music inclusion.S...
More >
 "Bang Bang Rock & Roll")
