Sardonic Brit rock, charismatic indie rap, and catchy college pop are on tap for my second Listening Log:
Art Brut vs. Satan — Art Brut (Downtown): After spending a lot of time on girlfriend problems with album #2, Art Brut singer/stand-up comic Eddie Argos leads his noize-tune cohorts back to the diversity of topics that animated the band’s great debut, Bang Bang Rock and Roll. Here, the band offers spirited defenses of arrested development and sloppy recordings and focuses their deadpan aim on Stuff They Like (public transportation, the Replacements, D.C. Comics) and Stuff They Hate (employment, U2, the general populace). Rousing chorus: “The record-buying public?/We hate them!/This is Art Brut vs. Satan/Don’t worry/We can take them!” (“Demons Out!,” “The Replacements,” “Alcoholics Unanimous”)
Grade: A-
