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Bang Bang Rock & Roll
by Art Brut

Art Brut reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 83 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
7.0 out of 10
based on 25 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 73 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album

The London-based art-rockers led by Eddie Argos make their official debut with this 12-song effort.

LABEL: Downtown / Fierce Panda
RELEASE DATE: 09 May 2006
DISCS: 1 disc
GENRE(S): Indie, Rock

NOTES: Original UK release 30 May 2005; the 2006 U.S. release has 3 bonus tracks.


What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100
Playlouder
'Bang Bang Rock & Roll' is as clever as it is funny as it is entertaining. It's the most original independent album in years.
Read Full Review
100
Alternative Press
Depending on your worldview, Art Brut are either the most whimsical folks in Britrock or the most sardonic bastards you've ever worshiped via air guitar. [Jul 2006, p.186]
91
Stylus Magazine
It doesn?t matter how well you can thrash or shred if it doesn?t sound good, and rarely does a section of Bang Bang Rock and Roll sound as if it wasn?t well thought-out and created with the intent to entertain.
Read Full Review
91
Village Voice (Consumer Guide)
This is the stuff of one-shot art-punk.
Read Full Review
90
Drowned In Sound
It's astounding that AB can reel off so many downright enjoyable songs that it almost hurts.
Read Full Review
90
Tiny Mix Tapes
It?s surprisingly comforting to hear a band like this come along and put everything in perspective, making you fall in love with music relating to your life, instead of becoming so grandiose and impersonal as most music has in recent years.
Read Full Review
90
All Music Guide
Though it runs out of steam slightly (at least in comparison to the pop art brilliance of the band's best songs) on its second half, Bang Bang Rock & Roll is a terrific debut, and Art Brut is smart, catchy, and fun.
Read Full Review
89
Pitchfork
It's tempting to think of Art Brut as the foreign replacement for the catchy/clever observances Weezer used to traffic.
Read Full Review
83
Spin
These Brits deconstruct bombast via bombastic guitar riffs. [Jun 2005, p.108]
80
Mojo
Every generation needs an Art Brut. [Jun 2005, p.100]
80
Uncut
Adopting Franz Ferdinand's arty edginess and the raw energy of the Pistols, Art Brut tilt at everything from the ephemeral nature of popular culture to erectile dysfunction. [Jun 2005, p.100]
80
Blender
At their most thrilling, they fuse the spiky cool of Elastica with the witty self-consciousness of LCD Soundsystem. [Sep 2005, p.131]
80
Lost At Sea
While there isn't much variation in instrumentation or sound, the impeccable, thought-provoking lyrics more than make up for it.
Read Full Review
80
Trouser Press
The gap between expectations and delivery, the contrast of emotions that go into real life as opposed to pop fantasy, makes this brief but satisfying album a pointed delight.
Read Full Review
80
Delusions of Adequacy
It's a bit of an acquired taste, but at record's end, you'll be extremely satisfied.
Read Full Review
80
Prefix Magazine
The members of Art Brut manage to infuse humor without pushing it too far. Or maybe they do push it too far, and that's why it feels more important.
Read Full Review
76
cokemachineglow
It all adds up to blatantly catchy, deceptively simple wannabe-clever, can?t-help-but-be-cheeky art-punk.
Read Full Review
70
Billboard
Though its novelty diminishes more with each listen (with the first being the freshest, most energetic romp of them all), "Bang Bang Rock & Roll" still stubbornly continues to amuse.
Read Full Review
70
PopMatters
Bang Bang Rock and Roll is still the most welcome, here's-mud-in-yer-eye debut since The Libertines' Up the Bracket.
Read Full Review
70
New Musical Express
This is both a fine and fun album. [21 May 2005, p.65]
70
ShakingThrough.net
Frenzied throwaways like ?Modern Art? and vapid observations like ?popular culture no longer applies to me,? from ?Bad Weekend,? keep Bang Bang Rock and Roll from attaining that rarified feel of unveiling something truly special.
Read Full Review
70
Under The Radar
And yet, for all the music?s grand gestures (circus-style rhythms, stops and starts, laments of an emotional world come crashing down), this is a world of minutiae, observations never far from the poet?s reckoning [#14]
70
Sputnikmusic
It's like the debut, but slightly different, definitely better.
Read Full Review
60
The Guardian
Whether shouting, wisecracking or guffawing, [Argos] spends their entire debut album veering between irony and geekery.
Read Full Review
40
Q Magazine
This is essentially a couple of singles spread way too thinly. [Jun 2005, p.110]

What Our Users Said

Vote Now! The average user rating for this album is 7.0 (out of 10) based on 73 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Jay P gave it a10:
It doesn't get any better than this. Best record of the decade.

Ray l gave it a9:
Fantastic

Delicious gave it a6:
Some catchy songs, but hardly revolutionary. They might seem special to someone who has absolutely no knowledge of other independent bands, maybe? Art Brut have some catchy songs, but the lead singer steals Mark E. Smith's shtick and the band is just generic garage rock.

Todd W gave it an8:
If these guys ever take themselves seriously, we could be looking at another Clash, or at least Sonic Youth. This album is often smart, sometimes funny, and it ROCKS. However, in spots it's a little too cute. And cute doesn't translate well to the ugly masses. The Sheep simply never get it. Popular culture no longer applies to them. Perhaps that's a good thing for the rest of us. It would be nice to keep these guys our little secret. However, you would hope that just once, ONCE, the denizens of the dark waters of the Sewerstream would wake up and answer the door when a rcok band like Art Brut come banging.

Steve C gave it a0:
Pretentious rubbish. Awful. Talentless. Highly irritating.

Matt J gave it a9:
Music to enjoy, surely music is there to make you want to dance, laugh, and feel, Emily kane takes everyone back to their first love, hilarious throughout, just thoroughly enjoyable!

Jason gave it a1:
I clearly missed something too because a friend just called me last night to rave about these guys. Unfortunately, I'd already heard this album and couldn't get through it a 2nd time.

Read more user comments...

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