Everybody Was in the French Resistance . . . Now!

Concept albums can be tricky. Get it just right and you'll earn plenty of critical praise. Make it too complicated and your average listener may not get it. Of course, if you're already in a successful band and you don't want a forgettable record on your discography, your best bet...

By Michael Escoto

May 20, 2010

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Concept albums can be tricky. Get it just right and you'll earn plenty of critical praise. Make it too complicated and your average listener may not get it. Of course, if you're already in a successful band and you don't want a forgettable record on your discography, your best bet is to start a side project. That's just what Eddie Argos, frontman of the UK band Art Brut, did when he teamed up with Dyan Valdes of L.A. rockers Blood Arm to form Everybody Was in the French Resistance . . . Now! The duo is currently touring in support of debut album Fixin' The Charts, Volume One, a collection of songs that are responses to well-known and some not-so-well-known songs. The response song is not a new concept and does manage to be kind of humorous on a few occasions, such as on the song "G.I.R.L.F.R.E.N. (You Know I've Got A)," a response to Avril Lavigne's pro-boyfriend-stealing anthem "Girlfriend." Fans of Art Brut are likely to enjoy Argos' side project because it sounds, well, exactly like Art Brut. Argos delivers his usual sing-speak style and Valdes contributes plenty of catchy hooks. Now if we can just get an answer song to explain what the point of this album was. Maybe that's on the next volume.

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