Track Listing

1. Pump Up The Volume
2. Direct Hit
3. St. Pauli
4. People In Love
5. Late Sunday Evening
6. I Will Survive
7. Post Soothing Out
8. Blame It On The Trains
9. Sound Of Summer
10. Nag Nag Nag Nag
11. Jealous Guy

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #79761 in Music
• Released on: 2007-06-19
• Number of discs: 1

Album Description
Much like the art movement of the same name, Art Brut are outsiderish, rebellious, punk before punk, and deliciously libertine. Their second full-length is poppier than the first (2004's "Brutlegs"), and with tracks titled "Pump Up The Volume" and "I Will Survive", expect it to be tongue-in-cheek and rancorously funny.

Amazon.com
Art Brut's sophomore effort works the same ironic, are-they-joking vibe that made 2005’s Bang Bang Rock & Roll such a hoot. Eddie Argos’s lyrics still sound tossed off the top of his clever head, like he looked around the room and wrote what he saw on a dinner napkin. Whether he’s choosing between kissing a girl and turning up the stereo ("Pump Up the Volume") or contemplating his own vanity on "Nag Nag Nag Nag" ("wet trousers in the washing machine/ but I’d rather be damp than seen in jeans"), the words are always the best part of the song. The music, meanwhile, is grand and silly, filled with brash Brit-pop tropes and chunky, Weezer-size guitar riffs.

But the band hasn’t found a way around their central problem: The songs lack variety. It wasn’t such an issue on their debut because the sample was so limited, but now we know too well what to expect. Their particular formula makes it tough; Argos’s spoken, thickly accented delivery doesn’t exactly have a vast range of expression, and their punk-influenced emphasis on simplicity limits what they can do dynamically. Only two records in and despite their catchy tunes and obvious talents, they’re starting to sound tired. Can they find a way to be something more than just a particularly bright flash in the indie-pop music pan? It remains to be seen, but for now I’ll enjoy It’s a Bit Complicated’s smarty-pants snark--for at least another week or so. --Matthew Cooke

Customer Reviews

intelligent upbeat music
Art Brut's second album, It's A Bit Complicated, hit the streets June 26th. Judging from the five song EP, it won't disappoint the multitude of fans won over by their debut album, Bang Bang Rock & Roll. Known for his shrewd self awareness, front man Eddie Argos and his crew have done it again. Mixing talk/stylized vocals, smart verbosity and catchy melodies, Art Brut will satisfy your longing for intelligent upbeat music. It's A Bit Complicated is deceptively simplistic; its perfectly crisp songs are multi-layered concentrated pop energy.

The EP features "Pump up the Volume," where Argos asks, amidst clever background vocals and guitar riffs, if it is bad taste to stop making out in order to turn up a pop song. "Direct Hit" is a rowdy rock number that you wish the DJ would play instead of the multitude of bad danceable tracks. "Post Soothing Out" is more vulnerable about a failing relationship. It hinges on the wit that characterizes the band's lyrical approach when referencing John and Yoko and remarking that "every day is just like starting over." "Late Sunday" is instrumentally diverse with an appearance of horns and xylophone, displaying the range of Art Brut's creativity and are hopefully an indication of their future as a band. "Nag Nag Nag Nag" is a frenzied tale of "adolescent concerns" from the brooding teenage perspective that recalls youthful rebellion.

It's A Bit Complicated is Art Brut a bit more grown up, maintaining a mature perspective amid a swell of pop rock enthusiasm. These songs will inevitably infect your brain and you will find yourself singing them - with a British accent, of course.

A simple formula (that works over and over)
I can't really speak to the Franz comparison, but I can say that the Eddie's monologues seemed to have evolved a bit over the previous album and are undeniably relatable; especially to anyone struggling in a relationship (tracks, "Post Soothing Over" and "Jealous Guy" come to mind here). Eddie Argos is an "everyman" in the truest sense, and his lyrics exude an authenticity unsurpassed by any Brit-pop band in recent memory.

On the whole, there are some great riffs here too. Overall, this is one of the best albums of '07 and well worth your time - although a bit brief. If Art Brut continues to release albums keeping in form with the previous two, keep them coming.

Not another one!
Hey, a new Franz Ferdinand album? Oh wait, it's Art Brut. Seriously, can it get any closer? I guarantee you play "Pump the Volume" to the average Franzie and he'll swear up and down that it's gotta be them. Even the voice sounds ridiculously alike. It may seem unfair to criticize Art Brut for sounding like Franz Ferdinand (and Bloc Party, for that matter) when Franz borrowed heavily from all sorts of other groups. But the UK is so full of these bands now that someone needs to stop them. Preferrably now because in about twenty minutes I'm going to be sick of all of it.

As the Art Wave continues to roll dominant over the post-punk/garage rock niche, Art Brut does what they gotta do even while they sound like a band just formed last Tuesday. They even have a 2004 single called "Formed a Band," like it was done on a whim based on the artsy post-punk that was on the sharp rise. That they would take the "too clever to be clever" modus operandi as far as this (and on the segments of Bang Bang Rock & Roll I've heard) is the very reason why they have no chance of surviving for much longer. I would mourn them if I would actually miss them. Meat is meat, but well-done ain't rare. It's a Bit Complicated is medium most of the way through, though they find some bloody goodness on parts of "St. Pauli" and "Late Sunday Evening." Even "I Will Survive" manages a rolling beat that chugs along nicely beneath the sharp blasts. Too bad a lot of the rest is stringy and grey.

"Pump Up the Volume" has the same sort of snarky humor that Elvis Costello displayed with his similarly titled "Pump It Up"; but the latter made you act against the instincts of the lyrics and, well...pump it...up? "Volume" floats by with the urgency of drying paint. It's punchy, the almost-bored enthusiasm is marked off, and the rhythm is clearly defined. But Franz should be able to do it better...damn it, I did it again. It's unfair really. If Art Brut came first, I might say similar things about the others. Except that Franz does it better, with more style, and their, ahem, art is more brutish. This is just the slick knockoff. Luckily, I'm not disgusted by it, just disinterested. It zips by with neither imprint nor identity. No one can actually hate this stuff, but it's time to move on to something else at this point. After all of these bands, the next Franz record is going to automatically sound like crap.

Best cuts: "St. Pauli," "Late Sunday Evening," "Post Soothing Out," "I Will Survive," "Blame It on the Trains"