“Are you ready Art Brut?” hollers Eddie Argos before commencing each track in this incendiary secret show. Of course they are. Mixing together much-loved tracks off Bang Bang Rock & Roll with material from the highly-anticipated new album – which they finished “an hour ago” – the smart-as-you-like art rockers are out to capture both the feet and minds of their audience. Eddie’s vocal style: part-singing, part-ranting, all-entertaining, lends itself well to mid song break-offs like: “You are the kids of New Cross, go home and start a band. Start a band or we are left with The Twang”.
These guys certainly know how to bring the stage to life. Eddie flails and high kicks like a drunken ninja whereas Jasper’s wide-eyed gawps, seemingly of pleasure and surprise at the sound he is contributing to, brings to mind a mate of mine on the party-time class As. There is even a feedback drone-fuelled Jasper/Ian headlock onstage. Antics like this have the crowd baying for more and Art Brut aren’t ones to disappoint, returning for a finely executed encore. New tracks such as Direct Hit mesh well into the set and bode well for the new album.
The realisation that they shall soon be doing a stint on tour with overblown pseudo-intellectual rockers
