Art Brut's wit shines on new album

The division of labor within the British punk-pop band Art Brut wasn't difficult to work out.

“Well, I don't play any instruments, so I do the words and the rest of the band does the music,” frontman Eddie Argos said with a laugh. “It makes things simpler that way, you know?”

Art Brut has just released its fourth full-length record — “Brilliant! Tragic!” (Cooking Vinyl/The End Records). The band opens a North American tour in support of the record with a stop at the Double Door in Chicago next week.

Like its predecessors, “Brilliant! Tragic!” is full of propulsive, punk-flavored rock highlighted by Argos' witty lyrics and distinctive vocals.

Argos' words come via a unique hybrid of singing and talking (or shouting, as is often the case), all of it colored by his thick English accent.

On a few of the new songs Argos treads closer to the “singing” side of the equation than he has before, but fans needn't worry that he's trying to become the next Morrisey.

“I thought I'd push it a bit more in that direction this time, but come on, this is the voice I have,” he said. “I can only take it so far.”

The lyrics on “Brilliant! Tragic!” again display Argos' sense of humor, as on “Clever Clever Jazz,” the latest of many Art Brut songs to poke fun at the band: “Sorry it doesn't sound like it's planned ... can't you see we're doing the best that we can?” In “Bad Comedian,” Argos lets loose on an ex-girlfriend's new lover: “How can you bear to hold his hand/I bet he signs his name in Comic Sans.”

Frank Black, leader of legendary rock band The Pixies, produced “Brilliant! Tragic!” It was his second time working with Argos and company, having produced the group's last record, “Art Brut vs. Satan.”

“It was a bit different this time because I was more comfortable with him,” Argos said. “On the last record, he was this amazing guy from this amazing band we all loved. This time around we were mates, and I think that helped the recording process.”

The playfulness of Argos' lyrics, combined with his limited vocal range, led some to tag Art Brut as a novelty act when it released its debut album, “Bang Bang Rock & Roll,” in 2005. It didn't help that the first single from that record, the insanely catchy “Formed a Band,” seemed to be a snide comment about the group's existence: “Look at us/We formed a band!”

That criticism has largely disappeared, Argos said, except in his native England, where people still assume he's kidding when he writes about lingering feelings for a high-school girlfriend (“Emily Kane” from the debut) or his love of comic books (“DC Comics and Chocolate Milkshake” from “Art Brut vs. Satan”).

“(That's why) I love playing in America,” he said. “People take us at face value there, which is not usually the case in England, where everyone thinks we're joking and being ironic about everything.

“In England, when we do a song like ‘Emily Kane,' people say, ‘Oh, you just made her up, you don't really feel that way.' In America, they say, ‘Yeah, I know what you mean, man.' I think that's cool.”

<b>Art Brut (with Reptar, Team Band)</b>

<b>When:</b> 8 p.m. Wednesday, June 15

<b>Where:</b> Double Door, 1572 N. Milwaukee, Chicago

<b>Tickets:</b> $15, (773) 489-3160 or doubledoor.com