The born-again punk rocker and Art Brut
I was a late bloomer on the punk rock scene. While all of my friends were fueling their angst-ridden attitudes with the Dead Kennedys and the Sex Pistols, I was listening to Of Montreal and saying, “Can’t we all just be happy yellow bumblebees?” But I’ve since seen the light of punk rock, and that light shines brighter thanks to the British Art Brut.
Art Brut brings art to a scene that has been all but ruined by hordes of poster ready pop-punk bands. Taking their name from French painter Jean Debuffet’s term for work by marginalized people, their sound is iconoclastic, edgy and fun at the same time. It is a conscious declaration against meaning, and an invitation to dance to your pale anemic heart’s content.
Their debut album, “Bang Bang Rock and Roll” was released last year, and is marked by angular guitar work and a drivingly simple rhythm section. Front man Eddie Argos delivers the lyrics in a sing-speak technique that, in its best moments, hearkens back to Johnny Rotten’s most acerbic sneers. Singing on opener “We Formed a Band,” Argos shouts, “Yes, this is my singing voice. It’s not irony, it’s not rock n’ roll.”
Their tongue-in-cheek approach to the history of punk music and underground culture is perhaps Art Brut’s most endearing trait. They can simultaneously embrace the messy and mathematic, drawing on everything from Television to Stiff Little Fingers, while mocking the entire tradition. Despite their claims to the contrary, this is a band who not only understands but bathes in irony, and while they might not change your life, Art Brut makes me glad I finally discovered punk rock.
So pull out your leather jacket and shredded pants. A few spins through their album and you’ll be growing a Mohawk and wishing it was 1979.
Comments and questions can be sent to Zach at
zpendleton@cc.usu.edu.