Fact: Eddie Argos embodies the collective exuberance of English people. And with his speak/sing dichotomy, meaty hooks and larger-than-life persona, he helps thrust this quintet to the forefront of art-pop, that side of the Atlantic. Art Brut has thus returned with It’s a Bit Complicated - follow-up to their lauded debut, Bang, Bang Rock and Roll. Cleverly delivered, the new record traverses similar terrain as its predecessor: still crude, still raw, and like most things unapologetically pleasurable, still addictive. Brimming with treble-full rage, aggressive melody, this balls-to-the-wall gala gives no pause for breath. Slapping in the face the weepy-eyed torpor of indie rock, Art Brut continues to meld simplistic form with incredible aptitude, pairing abrasive guitars with vocal harmonies and relying on the ruminations of casual thoughts and experience to inform each track. Like Pavement without the cacophony and The Strokes without pretension, Art Brut, in fact, prove it’s not really that complicated after all.
--W.T. Wallace
