Picking up where
And Yes, This Is My Singing Voice!
left off,
Sorry That It Doesn't Sound Like It's Planned! Battling Satan, 2009-2020
chronicles the later years of
Art Brut
's career with the same loving detail, complementing 2009's
Art Brut vs. Satan
, 2011's
Brilliant! Tragic!
, and 2018's
Wham! Bang! Pow! Let's Rock Out!
with copious rarities, B-sides, demos, and live cuts. The set's title reflects the charming spontaneity of
at their best -- something they had in spades on their debut album,
Bang Bang Rock & Roll
, and often tried to recapture. After the somewhat mannered
It's a Bit Complicated
, the band's work with
Frank Black
on
Satan
and
Brilliant
was a breath of fresh air.
's no-frills mix of punk and indie puts the focus on
Argos
' manifestos: He sings about drinking and public transportation with the same amount of gusto, and revels in the joys and anxieties of arrested development on "Am I Normal?" and "DC Comics and Chocolate Milkshake." On
,
moved further out of the shadow of their earlier work. There's a sharper edge to
' observations, and to his voice: his sotto voce rasp is perfect for uniquely scathing insults like "Bad Comedian"'s "I bet he signs his name in Comic Sans!" "Is Dog Eared" distills the album's experiments into one striking track, pairing whisper-to-a-shout vocals with bass-heavy dance-punk. Though the return to shouty, self-referential wit on
doesn't quite reach
's past heights,
' reflections on moving to Berlin, heartbreak, and near-death experiences tap into the poignancy just beneath the surface of their music.
The bonus material on
Sorry That It Doesn't Sound Like It's Planned!
is just as compelling as the albums it collects. Though there's only a handful of live tracks, the 16-minute version of "Modern Art" (originally a bonus on their 2013's greatest-hits collection
Top of the Pops
) is a potent reminder of
's stage presence. However, there's a wealth of demos, alternate takes, B-sides, and covers -- the things that obsessive record collectors like
, and
fans, live for. Numerous versions of "Demons Out!" reveal that plenty of sweat and forethought went into its seemingly off-the-cuff brilliance. Other highlights include their exuberant cover of
the Cure
's "Catch" and "Richard Where's My Record Deal?," an indictment of the music industry set to a strummy acoustic singalong. One of the set's more revelatory moments is "The Price You Pay for Waiting." A previously unreleased track recorded in 2006 or 2007, it's as pointedly witty as anything that appeared on the band's albums or B-sides, but its observations about the passage of time and living in a world saturated with pop culture ring truer than ever. So does
' mission to celebrate and have a dialogue with the art around you, whether it's in a museum, a comic book, or a box set of an indie band's body of work. Coupled with thoughtful packaging that includes an illustrated zine, detailed liner notes, and a signed art print by
is as joyous, witty, defiant, and bittersweet as the band itself. ~ Heather Phares