Art Brut seemed destined to be a one-album wonder. 2005's Bang Bang Rock & Roll synthesized caffeinated guitar hooks with concise sentiments, but the delicate balance between their forceful sound and their comprehensive tongue-in-cheekness was surely too tenuous to hold. Four years after their debut, though, Art Brut continue to defy the odds with their third LP. Art Brut vs. Satan picks up right where the others left off, adding yet another success to an already overachieving catalog.
On the album's artwork, ""Satan"" is written upside-down, giving the impression of a split in the photo. The upper half, designated ""Art Brut,"" depicts a quaint cabin and a few trees. The lower half, deemed ""Satan,"" is an impressive skyline of towering commercial buildings. This subtle statement underlies one of the album's key tracks, ""Slap Dash for No Cash,"" on which lead singer Eddie Argos asks, ""Why would you want to sound like U2?"" U2 is a prime example of the music mogul caught up in the architectural redundancy of the concrete jungle. Art Brut is like a lone cabin.
On ""Demons Out!,"" Argos continues his indictment of commercial rock, claiming, ""It's all smoke and mirrors, don't go and see them / I wanted rock 'n' roll, I got a science museum."" Replacing quality with showmanship is a treacherous fence to straddle—lined with barbed wire and remnants of ripped shorts from Van Halen, Guns N' Roses and the like. Ironically, Art Brut are often caught straddling this same fence.
If Argos takes himself too seriously, he loses the giddiness that makes him so warm and accessible, but if he does not take himself seriously enough, he becomes merely a more hip Weird Al Yankovic. As it stands, Argos' lyrics draw the line between Jason Mraz and his true peers in the Mountain Goats or the Modern Lovers, and he has yet to supply listeners with any reason to doubt which side he's on.
Art Brut carry themselves with phenomenal swagger. Even while speaking of the epic showdown between Art Brut and Satan, Argos continually reassures us, ""Don't worry, we can take 'em."" Satan clearly represents the overgrown and overblown side of mass media, making his persuasion in the form of giant record deals and seas of screaming teenage girls. But if we're trying to look for any deeper meaning from Argos' lyrics, it should be that Art Brut are immune to this type of coercion.
That's what should ultimately define Art Brut vs. Satan in the context of Art Brut's discography. Bang Bang Rock & Roll was their fiery introduction, It's a Bit Complicated their polished presentation, and now Art Brut vs. Satan is their definitive self-
