X
Bahrain
  • Dubai
  • Abu Dhabi
  • Doha
  • Restaurants
  • Nightlife & Music
  • Sport & Outdoor
  • Body & Mind
  • Film & TV
  • Art & Culture
  • Community
  • Visa Offer

  • EVENTS
  • COMPETITIONS
  • Kids
  • Home
  • Nightlife

Everybody Was in the French Resistance …Now! music review

We listen to Eddie Argos's latest musical effort. Is it any good?

By James Wilkinson
08 February 2010
Everybody Was in the French Resistance …Now! music review

Fixin’ the Charts, Vol. 1
2/5

The thing about Eddie Argos’s singing is that, well… it isn’t. Which is fine when he’s fronting the ace Art Brut: there his unmusical utterances are backed up by a gang of skilled rock musicians with mad riffs. But this side project is made with girlfriend Dyan Valdés of indie kids The Blood Arm and the result is considerably less than we’d hoped for.

Seemingly made on a shoestring budget, Fixin’ the Charts’ twee melodies and flat production just aren’t enough to support Argos’s vocals. Art Brut’s drums and guitars galvanise him; here, synth-organs and sampled hand-claps leave him high and dry. Even his lyrics are less inspired than usual, though not without the odd chuckle.

It’s not all bad. The basic idea – each song is a response to a tune by someone else – is fun, even if some of the links are tenuous. Defending the love child from ‘Billie Jean’ in ‘Billie’s Genes’ is inspired, but turning The Mamas and the Papas’ ‘Creek Alley’ into the WWII-based ‘Creeque Allies’ is a stretch. And yeah some, like ‘G.I.R.L.F.R.E.N’ from Avril Lavigne’s ‘Girlfriend’), are catchy, but this is weak sauce considering the talent.
Available now online.

SIMILAR ARTICLES

  • Hed Kandi and Khaled Hussain to play Bahrain Grand Prix 2017

  • Caroline SM interview

  • Bryan Adams in Bahrain in 2017

  • The legacy of David Bowie

  • Charlotte Gainsbourg music review

    Have Charlotte Gainsbourg's musical parents passed on any of their talent?

  • Massive Attack music review

    Brit trip-hoppers Massive Attack's newest album, Heligoland, reviewed

Add Your Comment

Sign in

Not Registered? Click here to register

  • Login with Google+
  • Login with Facebook
  • Login with Twitter

Related articles

  • Hed Kandi and Khaled Hussain to play Bahrain Grand Prix 2017

  • Caroline SM interview

  • Bryan Adams in Bahrain in 2017

  • The legacy of David Bowie

  • Requiem: Techno Poetry in Bahrain

Useful Time Out Bahrain Links

  • Cinemas in Bahrain
  • Restaurants in Bahrain
  • Bahrain Spas
  • What’s on in Bahrain
  • Sports in Bahrain
  • Bahrain Bars
  • Art in Bahrain
  • Bahrain Clubs
  • Tickets and Events

Contact Us

  • Advertising

Time Out Products

  • Dubai
  • Abu Dhabi
  • Doha
  • Arabic

Connect with Us

Published by & © 2018 ITP Digital Media Inc. All rights reserved.