Wham! Bang! Pow! Let's Rock Out!

After a few listens you get the feeling Art Brut are generally excited to be recording together again. The time apart has done them the world of good, as the enthusiasm they exude is infectious. Argos’ vocals have aged well and now have a warming tone, but the snarky bite still remains.

The last three Art Brut albums gradually moved away from the energy and enthusiasm of Bang Bang Rock & Roll, but with Wham! Bang! Pow! Let’s Rock Out they sound like a band having more fun than ever before. All three of those exclamation marks are entirely justified.

Fourteen years have passed since they arose, and while so much has changed in the world, Art Brut are a welcome constant. Wham! Bang! Pow! Art Brut are back, and better than ever!

Like Go-Kart Mozart or Billy Childish, Argos fashions lyrical witticisms from the commonplace. [Jan 2019, p.17]

A hilarious throwback to the days when bands didn't take themselves too seriously. [Dec 2018, p.89]

Still, if Wham! Bang! Pow! Let’s Rock Out! is a ramble, it’s an infectious ramble, too much fun not to rock out to; you’ll pick out bits and pieces of The Mr. T Experience, Descendents and Ted Leo in the record’s texture, but then again, you may be too busy bobbing your head along to care about such paltry things as influence.

With a combination of new and old faces, the new iteration of Art Brut is rhythmically tighter and more robust, less ramshackle, as Argos embraces middle-aged malaise with his charmingly lyrical bluster.

On Art Brut’s last two albums, Argos’ act soured a bit, as he lashed out at a world that was buying less and less of what he was selling. Wham! Bang! is good-hearted in a way those records weren’t, and the newfound humility flatters him.

After five albums, and after seven years of silence, it’s obvious now that Art Brut work best when they’re back to basics, reminding us what it might have been like to be fresh out of university in pre-recession times, and ensuring that we can dance along with them while they’re at it.

As their past few LPs suffered from a bout of structural sameness, Wham! Bang! Pow! Let's Rock Out! contains just enough musical and lyrical variety to place it amongst Art Brut's finest work.

Art Brut’s first album in seven years is trademark zippy, tuneful guitar pop, although there is perhaps more of a nod to new wave and power pop than there once was.

Argos continues to be funny and charming, and the band has plenty of hooks. At the same time, the new record doesn't quite have the character of previous releases, and with the many superficial connections to the start of the band's career, it puts itself in a tough position. Art Brut still gives us plenty of reasons to rock out, but this album doesn't leave enough of its own mark.

You get the feeling even the band think the joke's wearing a bit thin. [Jan 2019, p.106]