Scarily, it’s getting on for twenty years now since Eddie Argos and his friends burst onto the scene with the joyous, euphoric ‘Formed A Band‘, perfectly conveying the excitement of writing, recording and performing together for the first time. Bang Bang Rock & Roll was one of the great debut albums, and not just of the noughties.
While Art Brut continued to garner praise, sometimes lavishly so, from the music press, commercially they never really achieved the heights they should have. If you missed out on them the first time around, or if they simply somehow slipped off your radar after the first record, A Record Collection, Reduced To A Mixtape is the perfect place to either begin, or to reacquaint yourself with their endearing idiosyncrasies.
Argos has chosen exceptionally well, almost flawlessly cherry picking the best moments from each of their five studio albums, so this set is pretty much continuous fire, with the aforementioned ‘Formed A Band“, my personal favourite ‘My Little Brother‘, ‘Emily Kane‘ and the Stones aping ‘Good Weekend‘ grabbing you by the throat and yelling “Listen to us you bastard! We should have been huge!“
Weirdly, ‘Nag Nag Nag Nag‘ from Bang Bang Rock & Roll’s follow up, It’s A Bit Complicated, has always reminded me a little of Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel, and it’s this song from whence this compilation takes its name, while ‘Pump Up The Volume‘ (no, not that one) perfectly conveys Argos’s never ending passion for great pop music, and the frustration felt when the other person doesn’t seem to be giving it the respect it deserves. I can relate – don’t talk over the best bit, damn it!
The amusing ‘St. Pauli’ kicks off side B, and then we’re into what is probably my choice as the band’s greatest album, Art Brut vs Satan. I haven’t played it for ages, if I’m honest, but both ‘Alcoholics Unanimous‘ and ‘DC Comics and Chocolate Milkshake‘ still knock me for six, the former with its 70s punkish call and response refrain, and the latter’s nod towards classic rock, with Argos’s ability to peddle humorous lyrics so convincingly that he makes even the most mundane things in life sound like they’re Heaven sent.
In the sleeve notes, Argos hilariously, but also quite accurately, says of the brilliant non-album standalone track ‘Unprofessional Wrestling‘ that “No one knows how to have sex the first time they do it; we are all very lucky there is not a referee or a team of commentators watching us.” By complete contrast, the song ‘Axl Rose‘ is not, as you might assume, an attack on the Guns N’ Roses frontman, but a paean to him having been a source of strength to Argos’s brother in his youth. It’s easy to see why Eddie himself regards this as the band’s peak, with the beautiful chaos of production – being more apparent this time around – provided by the amazing Frank Black, his second spell behind the mixing desk. I can’t help thinking his influence is greatly apparent on the ‘most sung’ track here, ‘Lost Weekend‘ (again, no, not that one), which actually renders it one of the highpoints of Art Brut’s career.
The last album to date by this great band was 2018’s Wham! Bang! Pow! Let’s Rock Out! That’s represented by the somewhat joyful ‘She Kissed Me (And It Felt Like A Hit)‘ (you know what I’m going to say here) and the hilariously exuberant, endearingly petty break-up song ‘I Hope You’re Very Happy Together‘. That’s just wonderful.
Apart from all the album stuff, there are B-sides here, ‘Just Desserts‘ probably the pick of these, and live versions of ‘Modern Art‘ and the epic ‘Post Soothing Out’, which is about as essential as you can get regarding this group.
Don’t let the title fool you. This is nigh on eighty minutes of sublime music.
