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It's a Bit Complicated proves that Art Brut are masters of writing pop songs about loving pop songs passionately.
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BlenderThis follow-up just isn't as lovable. [Jul 2007, p.110]
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The lowdown: it sounds pretty much the same as "Bang Bang," but not as good. It's not that the record is "bad"--it isn't--but that it, like its title suggests, is less brash, less fuck-all incautious about its rocking.
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Art Brut manage to retain a frenetic brilliance.
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Entertainment WeeklyIdiosyncratic yet entertaining guitar-based pop. [22 Jun 2007, p.69]
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It's really not that complicated at all - it's just good fun.
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As good as much of the new British rock can be, it is experiencing a creeping seriousness these days. "It's a Bit Complicated" is a welcome corrective.
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Unlike their debut's thrilling-but-ramshackle garage rock, this time round the words are harnessed to the kind of big, bold tunes that will lodge the five-piece in the mainstream consciousness.
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By only gently nudging the musical formula on It's a Bit Complicated, Art Brut have succeeded in crafting a satisfying half-mature sequel, but may have only delayed, rather than thwarted, the sophomore jinx.
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One trick pony's they may arguably be, but they've done the same trick twice and pulled it off.
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It’s a Bit Complicated doesn’t quite live up to the thrill of [the] debut, but it’s still just as good as its predecessor.
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More so than the debut's, these songs fare like standup comedy on repeated listens: Once the punch lines are spoiled, who wants to listen to a joke again?
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It all adds up to something lovably unpretentious – and pretty unique.
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The band's arrangements show a more robust sense of melody than they did on their debut.
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SpinComplicated shows a real grasp of musical history. [Jul 2007, p.99]
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The big difference behind the two albums’ superficial sonic similarities lies in the direction of this one’s gaze: panoramic, rather than immediately ahead. Whereas Bang Bang Rock and Roll was drunk, It’s a Bit Complicated is sober enough to think about being drunk.
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With Argos still writing gems and the band stepping up musically, Complicated should be as irresistible as its predecessor. For newcomers, it may be. For fans, it's still enjoyable, but familiar.
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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.
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Under The RadarThe music here lacks some of the high spots of "Bang Bang," especially the ecstatic rises-and-falls found int he arragement of 'Good Weekend' but it's consistently hard-driving, dancy and punky--withoutbeing dancepunky. [Summer 2007, p.78]
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Any notions of the dreaded sophomore slump disappear seconds into their new album It’s a Bit Complicated.
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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.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 21 out of 26
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Mixed: 4 out of 26
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Negative: 1 out of 26
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May 5, 2011
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DanB.Sep 19, 2007
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BrendanD.Aug 2, 2007