Gonna Get Myself Deported

EDITed to add the, y'know, links to the songs. I am teh stoopid.

Art Brut, "Moving To L.A." (Live at the Rhythm Factory) - So guess who I'm seeing tonight at Spaceland. It feels weird to say, but I'd almost say Art Brut's album snuck up on me; when I first heard it back in the spring, I kind of shrugged it off as yes-yes-that's-quite-a-fine-piece-of-smart-people-making-pop-music, but ever since I finally bought the CD a month or so ago (getting "Emily Kane" ferociously stuck in your head'll do that to you), my opinion of them couldn't be any higher, and it's more than likely going to end up as my favorite album of the year which has absolutely nothing to do with that new wave synths-n-stylists sound. It's just that they're so wonderfully circumspect in their super-sly, super-snotty approach, extending it even to the poster packed in with Bang Bang Rock & Roll which consists of thousands and thousands of tiny squares for fans to exactingly fill in just to end up with a bigger copy of the gloriously hideous album cover.

It helps, of course, that the music is insanely catchy (in an admittedly offbeat way); I still can't for the life of me figure out why the album version of this song (the track I'm posting comes, once again, from the Rhythm Factory comp that came out last year) hasn't at least been pushed as a single, since it towers over the rest in terms of accessibility without compromising its caustic wit even for a second. More importantly, it's also got that moment when the chorus roars into action, which is Art Brut in a nutshell - is there another band in the world that'd put that much drama behind a sentiment as gleefully limp as "I'm considering a move to L.A."?

Nine o'clock cannot get here fast enough. (Click here to buy Bring Your Own Poison: The Rhythm Factory Sessions or click here to buy Bang Bang Rock & Roll from Amazon.co.uk)

Duels, "Pressure On You" - I really wouldn't be so bitter about this song going from sure-fire hit to also-ran one bar into the chorus if Duels hadn't been tapped as the next Kaiser Chiefs, meaning they're going to be stealing some of the adulation that by rights should be going to the next Bloc Party. That's not to say it's not a fine single for the most part; it's actually quite a nice little nu-wave number (lord knows I'm simple enough that that shimmering synth in the background is worth a fair number of points by itself) on its own merits, and I'm sure there'll be plenty of Thee Kidz who get a kick out of gloomily chanting "PREH-SHUR-ON-YOU! PREH-SHUR-ON-ME!". It's just a little too... I dunno, suddenly rock'n'rollish for my tastes, I guess; I like it better when rock bands give in to temptation and make pop music more than when pop bands try to take the next step. But hey, maybe that just makes these guys the new Blur. (The single for "Pressure On You" is now sold out everywhere, but you can still buy a download of it from the band through here)