Art Brut: Not Complicated

Named after the term coined by French artist, Jean Dubuffet, to describe art created by marginalized members of society—prisoners, loners, the mentally ill—Art Brut is a fun, funny punk/pop band from London, put together by its affable and clever frontman, Eddie Argos.

Originally from Bournemouth, England, Argos moved to London determined to start a band—and to appear someday on the popular (albeit now cancelled) UK music show, Top of the Pops (in the song “Bad Weekend,” he sings, “Sometimes it’s hard to stop when your heart is set on Top of the Pops”). Argos recruited the band’s original guitarist, Chris Chinchilla, at a party they were both attending (Chinchilla has since left and been replaced by Jasper Future). After the pair convinced Chinchilla’s flatmate, Frederica, to play bass, they purchased a bass guitar for her on eBay. Argos then asked friend Ian Catskilkin to play guitar, and recruited drummer Mickey B after hearing about him through word-of-mouth. In May 2003, Art Brut was officially formed. 

The new group played random gigs and produced a few demos (called Brutlegs) which they posted on their website. The label Rough Trade took notice and released their first single, “Formed a Band” (“Formed a band! We formed a band! Look at us! We formed a band!”) in March 2004. With its cheeky lyrics and Argos’s talk-singing (“And yes, this is my singing voice. It’s not irony. And it’s not rock and roll. I’m just talking to the kids”), audiences either loved it or loathed it—the loathers dismissing Art Brut as jokesters. The song made it on to several year-end “best of” lists; and their high-energy, crowd-pleasing live performances (which include hilarious stage banter and anecdotes delivered by the charismatic, self-deprecating Argos) confirmed Art Brut as a serious band.

Their debut album, Bang Bang Rock and Roll was released in May 2005. Constant touring won the band an increasing number of fans. Performing at Coney Island’s Siren Festival in July 2006, Argos won over the notoriously cool New York crowd; Art Brut ended up stealing the show with upbeat music, funny lyrics, and topics New Yorkers could relate to. 

“Formed a Band” is about just that—forming a band and making music (“I want to be the boy, the man, who writes the song that makes Israel and Palestine get along”). “Emily Kane” laments the girlfriend Argos had when he was fifteen (“Other girls went and other girls came.