Art Brut | Brilliant! Tragic!

Cooking Vinyl/The End Records (2011)
By MIRIAM LAMEY  |  May 25, 2011
1.5 1.5 Stars

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On Art Brut's third album, Eddie Argos can't decide if he wants to be Jarvis Cocker or Sid Vicious. Initially, Argos leads his "art wave" crew firmly to Camp Cocker: "Lost Weekend" has the whispering vocals and drama of Pulp circa "Common People." A cheeky guitar sample from the Stones' "Satisfaction" cuts through the track's squawking riffs and tinny drums — perhaps Argos aspires a bit to Jagger-dom as well? Before the pop-rock dust settles, the intrepid frontman then channels his inner Sid Vicious in a blatant Sex Pistols allusion, "I Am the Psychic." The track's drum-pounding opening and furious guitar strumming spotlight Argos in his full-on Vicious mode, whereas "Martin Kemp" generates fire with plenty of angry power chords and shouted vocals. At least here Argos subdues his Pistols leanings. But Argos's unrepentant superstar imitations aside, Brilliant! Tragic! holds some well-written standouts. "Sexy" layers ringing riffs over jagged power chords and satiny acoustic strumming, and the stripped-down, softer "Ice Hockey" features a sparkling acoustic rhythm under which thick, distorted riffs slide — it's a dramatic, droopy number. Fortunately, Argos drops his acts by the album's melancholic close. But his impersonations ultimately cloud Brilliant! Tragic! and this band's true musical identity — whatever that may be.
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  Topics: CD Reviews , Music, rock, Eddie Argos,  More more >
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