Art Brut: Vol 2: Sorry That It Doesn’t Sound Like It’s Planned! Battling Satan 2009-2020
CD Set
Out Now
Art Brut release their second boxset, comprehensively completing the retrospective of the art-rockers recorded works between from 2009-2020.
As with last years, And Yes, This Is My Singing Voice! New Cross and Beyond, 2003-2008, which included the debut album Bang Bang Rock and Roll, their second studio album It’s A Bit Complicated along with unreleased live material, Live in Paris 2006 and Live Form ULU with Horns this collection is, warts and all, a must for any fan of Art Brut or collectors of noughties Indie alike
Again, the collection collects 5 discs of material, rare and unreleased home demo material and full-length studio albums plus a booklet bonus takes compiled in conjunction with the band, images from Eddie Argos’s personal archive as well as a booklet containing an essay from the man himself and a limited signed print.
Just to bring you up to speed, between 2003 and 2008 Art Brut had recorded two albums and released records on four different labels. Come 2009 they were once again looking for a new label…
Across these discs you get 2009’s Art Brut vs Satan and Art Brut Vs Satan Brutlegs and B-Sides; an extended edition of 2011’s Brilliant! Tragic!; 2018’s Wham! Bang! Pow! Let’s Rock Out!; with a bonus disc of more Brutlegs, Rare Live Cuts and B Sides. For anyone unfamiliar with the albums, more akin with singles, it’s from Alcoholics Unanimous and DC Comics And Chocolate Milkshake through to Hospital! along with WASABI, the collaboration with We Are Scientists.
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As well as having the entirety of the Art Brut recorded output in two handy 7” boxsets, each housing 5 CD’s it’s the various demos and unreleased nuggets such as Richard Where’s My Record Deal?, a semi ironic ode to their manager record their departure from EMI (and who would eventually see them sign to their fifth label, Cooking Vinyl) along with covers of tracks given away to ‘tribute’ CD’s such as their take on The Cure’s Catch or the collaboration on the Travelling Wilburys Handle With Care with We Are Scientists that really make this worth the entry price.
Don’t just take my word for it though, the front man, Eddie Argos, ever the salesman makes his case. “Some of my absolute favourite Art Brut moments nestled in amongst our most recent three albums. Intimate home demos, unreleased songs, lots of alternate versions and B-Sides and I’m especially glad ‘Richard Where is my Record Deal’ sung by Mike, Ian and Jasper finally gets it day in the sun, as well as Mike’s synth heavy experiments for some of Art Brut vs Satan. Lots of treasures we’ve hoarded for years that you now get to hear for the first time! What I’m saying is, this is a box of fantastic music, with a long essay about that fantastic music by me, and you’d be an idiot not to grab a copy immediately.”
The two albums for Cooking Vinyl, Art Brut vs Satan and Brilliant! Tragic! were both produced by Pixies founder and frontman Frank Black in Salem could be considered something of a purple patch, with the Eddie Argos even being encouraged to sing, or as he puts it, ‘whisper rhythmically.’ Whilst the music press, reviewing Brilliant! Tragic! recognised the front man as a songwriter on par with Jarvis Cocker, Ian Dury and Mark E. Smith sadly the label didn’t agree, and rather than back their artist chose to let them go…
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It would be 7 years before the band’s next album would be released via Alcopop! Records in 2018. Wham! Bang! Pow! Let’s Rock Out! is arguably their most consistent work to date and autobiographical, offering an insight into Argos’s life since their last release. As he explains in the booklet, ‘moving to Berlin, a breakup, new beginnings and a brush with death’…
The only thing really missing from this collection is a ‘live’ album. The first collection had a couple of live gigs included but this only has a handful of tracks. The reason I say this is I saw the band on the tour to promote the most recent album in 2019 and it was genuinely one of the best I’ve ever attended, that incarnation of the band being on top of their game. That said one of the live tracks is an epic 16 minute of Modern Art, originally on the second disc only available with the bands 2013 greatest hits album so I shouldn’t complaint too much.
This is a minor gripe though considering the wealth of material here, just shy of 4 hours 30mins in total. Listening to this and last years set I’ve found with these collections that there’s always something new to find, no matter how many times you listen..
Hopefully now the past has been collected so thoroughly the time may be right for another new Art Brut album…
For more Art Brut visit their website here
Photo supplied by Tell All Your Friends PR
All words by Iain Key. See his author profile here or find him on Bluesky
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