Art Brut

Last time DiS reviewed a Corporation:Blend show, it found them to be lacking the necessary spark and coherence to match their boundless self-confidence. A year on, and things have changed dramatically. Having gigged like workhorses for several years now, such self-confidence is a given - without it, they might have given up and gone home long ago.

Happily their perseverence is starting to pay off. Dogged by technical difficulties from the get-go, nonetheless their set tonight crackles with the kind of energy the word "explosive" was designed for. 'The Shutdown' rattles along with the pace of a runaway bullet train, its timid synthy intro belying the chorus's aggression, which recalls debut-era Placebo's rebellious insouciance. Rob Owen's high-pitched vocals squarely divide opinion, but songs like 'Blew It', which marry Muse's arpeggiated guitar salvoes with increasingly frantic melodies, complement the hysteria in his voice to great effect. In the past year Corporation:Blend have upped the live ante in every way, near-doubling the speed of their songs and thrashing through every difficulty that assaults them with a tenacity and imperviousness that few of their peers can match.

Any doubts one might have had about Art Brut are silenced summarily from the moment that towering frontman Eddie Argos opens his mouth. Lurching back and forth between the stage and the largely underage crowd assembled before him, he is indeed "just talking to the kids". The arched cleverness that comes across on record is abandoned in favour of pure enthusiasm. It's shouty, shambolic and wonderful, Argos yelling "I just can't help myself!!" with believable exuberance.

By and large, Art Brut's smart, funny lyrics are lost in the fray, lines like "I think I've got it sorted/gonna get myself deported" all but obscured by a tangle of antichords that pick the best bits from Wire and early Idlewild - but their energy and humour more than compensates. Contrary to your correspondent's pre-gig fears, Art Brut absolutely refuse to take themselves seriously - the presence of a song whose entire lyrics consist of the chanted petitionary words "Art Brut - TOP OF THE POPS!" attesting to this fact. Indeed, right now nothing could be more refreshing than seeing this band's infectious, irreverent output spewed out of the nation's televisions. It goes down a storm tonight, and they seem to be picking up momentum across the press. If they continue with shows like this, their takeover bid for Top Of The Pops may not be altogether unrealistic.