Art Brut - It's A Bit Complicated

Art Brut's 2005 debut Bang Bang Rock & Roll introduced the South London outfit's brand of bratty, conceptual art-punk. Ironic and arch, while also managing to rock with sincerity, Art Brut sounded like naive, irreverent school kids who were actually smarter than their teachers. It's not a shock that It's A Bit Complicated, the 2007 follow-up, doesn't branch far into new territory: to "mature" and "develop" would be against the band's M.O.

Instead, the album delivers more clever, brainy fare suitable for both pogoing and chin-stroking. Singer Eddie Argos applies his wry, biting humor to such topics as break-ups, adolescence, and pop music itself in his Fall-ish half-sung, half-spoken drawl. Meanwhile, the band slams and shuffles behind him with amps cranked, offsetting Argos's ironic stance with a raucous glee and pop smarts. Listeners not charmed by Art Brut's overall concept the first time out (and they are, after all, a concept band) are unlikely to be converted, but fans of Bang Bang Rock & Roll should give It's A Bit Complicated a well-considered spin.