Art Brut

The English band Art Brut are a unique animal in the music landscape. Forming in 2003, their debut album released two years later was a critical hit – scoring an 8.9 on Pitchfork while being tagged “Best New Music”. Musically and on stage Art Brut bring many of the illustrious characteristics of Brit-Pop and garage rock bands like the Futureheads, The Hives, We Are Scientists, etc… They’re loud, the guitar riffs rip, the choruses are catchier than most diseases, and the band simply look like rock stars. But where they differ is with their inimitable front-man Eddie Argos.

Eddie has the attitude and charisma of any fantastic band leader, but his vocals can be quite polarizing. Argos doesn’t sing, rather he just talks to the crowd as if the concert were a political pep rally. His vocal style and on stage mannerisms can be likened to Craig Finn, the front-man of The Hold Steady.

This isn’t to say that Art Brut are boring because of this style, it’s quite the contrary as the vocal variety blends significantly well with the thunderous musicianship. It’s rather entertaining, because sometimes you can’t tell if Argos is singing the next great Art Brut track or if he’s talking to the crowd. The uncertainty keeps everyone at the show on their feet ready to rock. An Art Brut show goes down well with a pint of your favorite lager, expect to see them in a small to medium sized venue, but with the flair of an arena rock band.