PLAYGROUND BOSTON

Some find it helpful to position a band’s sound by comparing ingredients of it to other bands. So, if you must, take a little of the lyrical wit found in the Arctic Monkeys’ “Teddy Picker” and “Bigger Boys and Stolen Sweethearts”, and some of The Futureheads sans the harmonies. Eddie Argos’ biting vocal presence is reminiscent of the Violent Femmes, and I might even go so far to say that what I hear in Art Brut’s April 2009 release Art Brut vs. Satan sounds like Joe Strummer on Rock Art and the X-Ray Style – of course, without all the Mescaleros and percussion. But, please, resist the urge to instinctively compare them to the The Streets. If you peel away the male lead and speak-shouting in an aggravated British accent, you’ll find a brilliance that separates Art Brut from the crude, convo-tone delivered by the previously mentioned Streets.

I think it’s quite obvious, in Argos’ lyrics, the progression in their material from post-adolescent break-ups to a more mature, general disappointment in the “record-buying public”. Art Brut has consistently taken public jabs at music “sell-outs” like The Killers, Kings of Leon, and Muse (and their audiences). Complaining that the material disseminated by these bands is over-produced and insincere. All right, most of us can concede to Argos’ argument (of course, before KOL set Sex on Fire, they did make one of my favorite albums Youth and Young Manhood). And, while, these other high-profile indies (paradoxical? perhaps.) might work to produce seamless, expensive music, Art Brut works tirelessly over a few days to make something more accessible. Far from the “nu-gaze” stylee dominating the blogwaves these days, this band makes admirable efforts to maintain a raw and untouched sound, a sound that mimics their live performances. This is undeniable on their latest album, Art Brut vs. Satan, and, for any music appreciator, is one of the greatest gifts an artist can give their fans. This third album was produced by legend, Black Francis (or, Frank Black, if you like) in his home and leaves traces of his roots in the Pixies.

So, needless to say, I was excited to get the opportunity to see Art Brut play at the Middle East downstairs last Saturday. The show was opened by Boston locals, TAB the Band, and California’s Princeton. By the time AB hit the stage, most of the over 21 audience already bought their next couple of beers and positioned for the main attraction. The band started their set with “Alcoholics Unanimous” – which is a clever PSA for wannabe rockstars everywhere. Between songs Eddie paid special attention to the audience, and after a string of inaudible sentences played hits from their previous two albums including “Direct Hit” and “Emily Kane”. True to AB theatrics, Eddie began to tell us about his recent updates on Emily (I’m well aware that this is part of his act – he also shared with us his post-breakup encounter with Ms. Kane in 2006, but I didn’t mind.). I was completely captivated after he jumped off the stage and stormed to the center of the floor. All we were missing was the campfire, because a hundred or so of us huddled around Argos and listened intently to a story we couldn’t really understand. The AB fundamentalists were dancing around Eddie, and as he was talking, I swear, he looked each one of us in the eye. I tell you, I’m glad it ain’t the sixties, because I would have left that show a total convert, in a van with Argos and the rest of his followers. The band’s energy was constant, and interactivity seems to be something so rare that when it finally happens even the skeptics relish in it.

The rest of the show was, you know, the usual: handclapping, jump-roping with the microphone cord, and open requests. While others were shouting out tracks from their first full-length, Bang Bang Rock & Roll, I wanted to hear some of the newer tracks, the miserable tirade of “Slap Dash for No Cash” and the Pixies-esque guitar riff that fights off “the man” in “Demons Out”. Argos’ autobiographical, meta-emotional approach to songwriting can arguably be attributed to his very public interest in DC Comics and its metahuman “superworld.” But despite Eddie’s out-of-this-world curiosities, Art Brut’s music is still fearlessly human — kind of like shooting the shit with a friend over drinks.

Art Brut: “Top of the Pops!”

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Art Brut