Where Art Brut fits in, exactly, is a bit hard to pin down. They’re not quite the post-punk revivalist sort—we fell in love with them for their wit before their angular hooks—and we can’t put them in with vocal-driven peers like The Hold Steady, either; they aren’t telling us great stories; it’s just goofy but lovable pop-rock.
What that means for their career arc, then, is that they have more staying power than class of ’04 peers Maximo Park and The Futureheards, but they probably won’t be turning out another earth-shattering album like their debut. So, to cut to the cliché: if you liked them before, you’ll like them now; if you didn’t, there isn’t much to come for here.
The wit’s still present—at times better than before (the self-aware homage “The Replacements”), and at times much, much worse (“The Passenger”)—and the songs are still fist-pumping, if a bit same-y. It helps a lot that Vs. Satan closes on two of the group’s strongest-ever tracks (the bouncy “Summer Job” and the refreshingly mellow “Mysterious Bruises”), which show serious promise. Hey, maybe this band can stick around for at least one more album.
