Eddie Argos, lead vocalist and lyricist of art rock band Art Brut, was kind enough to sit down and chat with me before his band’s show at the Black Cat this past weekend. Eddie’s love of comics and milkshakes have now been immortalised in song (in Art Brut’s ‘DC Comics and Chocolate Milkshake’, a track from the band’s most recent album-length offering, ‘Art Brut vs. Satan’), so I just had to ask him about both. I also learned that he really likes playing at the Black Cat (score! [also detailed in his blog]) and Washington (score again!), and he and the band are raring to go on their month-long jaunt around this great land of ours. He is also a very frank and funny man – no surprise there. Have a listen.

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‘Art Brut vs. Satan’, Art Brut’s third and latest album, was released in April and is available now from Cooking Vinyl in the UK and Downtown Records in America.

On a chilly Washington Sunday night I, warmed by the beckoning Black Cat on 14th Street, was armed with the knowledge that something fantastic was about to happen. And that something fantastic was English/German band Art Brut.

But before we could get “Brut-alised“, we were entertained by a four-piece from Los Angeles, Princeton. If you like the Drums, I imagine you will also like the chirpy rock/pop sound that this quartet makes. Songs like the Beach Boys-esque ‘Martina and Clive Krantz’ and the surprisingly upbeat ‘I Left My Love in Nagasaki’ will make you smile. Very interestingly, their web site says that the band started when three of them were living in London in 2005. (I maintain to this day that there must be something in the Thames that causes the inner rocker in people to rise up and form bands.)

Cute as heck twin brothers Jesse and Matt Kivel traded off lead vocal and guitar duties effortlessly, and keys from Ben Usen and the backbeat provided by David Kitz complete the band’s sound. The brothers’ self-deprecating banter between songs charmed the crowd by the end of the set. And seriously, when was the last time you were asked by a band to clap along not just to one, but several songs in a band’s set and you did so without reservation?

I had been recommended to see Art Brut by several friends on the Continent who insisted “Eddie Argos is a legend!” and “Art Brut are amazing live!” I was already interested in the band through their recent single ‘DC Comics and Chocolate Milkshake’, a celebration of the best things in life from Argos’s point of view. The song is from their latest album, ‘Art Brut vs. Satan’, released on Cooking Vinyl in April. I have a yet-to-be-shaken axiom that if a band is having a great time on stage playing their songs, it follows that the audience watching them will also have a great time being entertained by them. The Art Brut gig was further evidence for this. Jasper Future and Ian Catskillkin on guitars, Freddy Feedback on bass, and Mikey Breyer on drums were all having the time of their lives, playing with so much passion that at times I was worried their respective instruments might fly out of their hands. In particular, Future pulls these hilarious faces when he sings backing vocals; then he’ll stare out at the crowd as if waiting for a reaction. Comical!

And then there was Eddie Argos. He had told me earlier (after an exclusive interview I did with him, forthcoming on TGTF) that he is a show-off and likes to be the centre of attention. However, nothing could have prepared me for what can only be described as stage shenanigans. During the third song, ‘Summer Job’, Argos skipped rope with the microphone cord; I think he broke it because then the roadies had to quickly set up another microphone for him. He introduced ‘Rusted Gun of Milan’ humorously with “let’s glamourise bad sex!” Completely randomly in the middle of the song, he jumped into the crowd, the microphone cord narrowly hitting my friend and me in the face. He then went on to describe to bemused concertgoers on the floor where the glass elevator in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory leads to: “the Bat Cave. And this is all entirely true“. What did he do next? He started pogo-ing, which of course led to everyone in the club following his lead. He detailed his disappointment finding out that Iggy Pop’s song ‘The Passenger’ was not about riding on buses but taking heroin in the backseat of a limousine, and how he decided then that Art Brut would have to write a much better song about the joys of traveling on buses and trains around Britain. If that isn’t adorable, I don’t know what is.

Later on in the set, Argos explained that when playing ‘Alcoholics Unanimous’ (the first single from ‘Art Brut vs. Satan’) live, the band will play an extended outro so that he can nip off for a drink. It should also be noted that this is the same song that has the brilliant raucous chorus of “bring me tea! Bring me coffee!” So is it any surprise that one of the best-selling pieces of Art Brut merchandise was a mug with these words emblazoned on it in large letters? No, not at all. And this is all entirely true.

After the cut: photos and set list.

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Those crazy art-rock kids, Art Brut, have announced a string of UK tour dates for late April and Early May around the UK. I’m not sure this is the complete list, but will update if we find more tour dates / if any of you let us know that we’ve made any mistakes.

Tickets are on sale now (though Manchester, London and Birmingham go on sale at 9am tomorrow, 20th January), priced between £8.50 and £11 each.

Sunday 26th April 2009 – Poole Mr Kyps
Monday 27th April 2009 – Manchester University
Tuesday 28th April 2009 – Birmingham O2 Academy 2
Wednesday 29th April 2009 – Newcastle Other Rooms
Saturday 2nd May 2009 – Glasgow Stereo
Monday 4th May 2009 – Nottingham Rescue Rooms
Tuesday 5th May 2009 – Bristol Thekla
Wednesday 6th May 2009 – Brighton Concorde 2
Thursday 7th May 2009 – London Electric Ballroom

Photo taken from mediaeater’s flickr stream.

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Art Brut, the British band that the Germans love, have announced tow special one off London shows.

They’ll play at University of London Union (ULU) on Tuesday and Wednesday 4th and 5th December. They’ll be joined by a string section on the Tuesday night and a brass section on Wednesday night.

Tickets are available now, priced at £11 each.

Photo taken from mediaeater’s flickr stream.

Those crazy crazy Art Brut guys (you know, those Bournemouth guys who are more famous in Germany than they are here) have announced that they’ll be playing a special instore show at HMV Oxford Street.

It’ll be this Tuesday (26th June) at 6pm, and is in support of their new album, It’s A Bit Complicated, which is out today!

Photo taken from mediaeater’s flickr stream.