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It's A Bit Complicated - Art Brut
It's A Bit Complicated Image
Metascore
76 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 21 Critics What's this?

User Score
7.8 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 23 Ratings

Your Score
10 out of 10
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  • Summary: This is the second album for the tongue-in-cheek English band fronted by Eddie Argos.

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 21
  3. Negative: 1 out of 21
  1. The Guardian
    100
    Full of the kind of bathetic genius English pop used to excel in, Art Brut are life-affirming - and are worth 500 of almost every other new guitar band.
  2. Slant Magazine
    60
    The band's arrangements show a more robust sense of melody than they did on their debut.
  3. Village Voice
    30
    Here and there, Complicated sets up some promising scenarios-worrying about a platonic friend's reaction to a mix tape, or trying to initiate sex for the sake of outdoing a girlfriend's exes-but they never pan out.

See all 21 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 12
  3. Negative: 1 out of 12
  1. Colin
    10
    They've done it again, another brilliant album. And technically better than the first album, the snobs who shunned that may have to eat their words.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  2. DanB.
    5
    Who is this guy, Rex Harrison? He speak-sings! That said, People In Love is amazing. I can't stand it anymore, but only because I listened to it about 500 times in a row.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  3. CharmlessMan
    2
    This album sadly lacks the charm of the original, both musically and lyrically. On the musical front, the departure of original guitarist Chris Chinchilla has diminished the playfulness of the guitar riffs. Everything now sounds heavier and more overdone. Lyrically, much of the humor is either missing or too blatant and forced to be funny. Whilst the songs' themes would fit on the debut, their treatment here is heavy-handed and cloying. Argos' insecurities, previously self-mocking, now seem all too serious, particularly on a track such as Jealous Guy, where he describes his frustration that his girlfriend may have had sex more often with previous boyfriends. Whilst we may sympathise with the remnants of a schoolboy crush, such as on Emily Kane, listening to a grown man describe his sexual insecurities (which also feature here on Nag*4. Likewise, two cloying and nostalgic songs about making mixtapes (Nag*4 and Sounds of Summer) do no add up to one My Little Brother. Argos' perspective on sex and relationships have been dealt with more interestingly by bands such as Pulp and Arab Strap. Oh and Art Brut are about as punk as this website.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes

See all 12 User Reviews

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