Monday's leaky faucet (new tunes from Art Brut)

Who: Art Brut
Title: Art Brut vs. Satan
Release Date: May 12th
Label: Downtown
Thoughts: When Art Brut burst onto the scene a couple years ago with their debut Bang Bang Rock & Roll, we all knew there was more then a little bit of shtick involved. The band used Eddie Argos distinctive talk singing and energy to ride a wave into your hearts and then tried to capitalize on all the success and hype by rushing out It’s a Bit Complicated. That album kept on pushing the same sound they tried to peddle with the debut record resulting in an album that seemed a bit stagnant and forced. For their latest record, Art Brut vs. Satan, the band has recruited one Black Francis to produce the record and it definitely pushes the band’s sound in a slightly different direction. The slight change in sound seems to have reinvigorated the band who are back with a ton of energy, the same old wry wit we’ve come to love and some better songs then they’ve ever had before. There are still some of the same old horror story of love songs that they’ve survived on so far, but they also take on some different topics like drugs and alcohol and touring and success and all that stuff. It’s a much improved Art Brut from what we heard on It’s a Bit Complicated.
Listen: Art Brut - "Alcoholics Unanimous"
Art Brut - "Summer Job"

Who: Boy In Static
Title: Candy Cigarette
Release Date: April 19th
Label: Fake Four Inc.
Thoughts: Listening to the third record from Boy In Static you can hear a band that does not want to stay put. They want to explore their musical abilities, they want to play with odd sounds and find ways to incorporate them, and they certainly don’t want to make the same record twice in a row. Instead the duo are playing with toy pianos and drum machines, throwing out pretty viola parts, and adding a perfect touch of strengthened singing over all of it. This is an album of a band that really grew while touring and it shows in every way. It’s powerful, fun, imaginative, and perfectly crafted to sound different yet familiar.
Listen: Boy In Static - "Starlet"
Boy In Static - "Candy Cigarette"

Who: DOOM
Title: Born Like This
Release Date: March 24th
Label: Lex Records
Thoughts: I’m not all that familiar with the work of Charles Bukowski but I am pretty damn well schooled on the Wu Tang Clan. That makes me about half-way ready for the new DOOM (yes, formerly MF Doom) album Born Like This (or Born Into This). The record is said to be centered around Bukowski, I can’t attest to that but I can say folks like Raekwon and Ghostface Killah bring their A-games onto DOOM’s album laying down verse after hard hitting verse of heavy lyrics. I guess if Bukowski was heavy it fits. DOOM does his best production wise, even going so far as to use a Bukowski performance as a sample on "Cellz", but also laying down some heavy beats and fine sample work beyond that. Born Like This isn’t the greatest hip-hop record ever but it definitely has a few bright spots built into it that are worth listening to.
Listen: DOOM - "Ballskin"
(‘Cellz’ removed)

Who: Phoenix
Title: Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Release Date: May 26th
Label: Astralwerks
Thoughts: Before I get into the way I feel about Phoenix’s new record you should probably know that I’ve spent most of the past few months (if not most of my life) listening to more of the scuzzy, lo-fi, garage infused, pop rock that has become quite the rage lately. It’s more my cup of tea then some very well produced, classy sounding pop music from France. Now I can see why a lot of people would love the tunes on Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, my girlfriend seems to be enjoying it right this second in fact, but personally I’d rather get my rock a little more messed up then this is. So I understand what this is and why people are raving about it, that alone led me to listen to something I probably wouldn’t have, but I doubt I’ll throw this on repeat beyond this one listen. For those seeking this kind of music definitely check this out, it seems right up your alley.
Listen: Phoenix - "1901"
Phoenix - "Girlfriend"