- Record Label: Cooking Vinyl
- Release Date: Feb 16, 2010
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
-
In which Eddie Argos of Art Brut (!) and Dyan Valdes of the Blood Arm (?) write second-cousin answer songs to, among others, Bob Dylan, Michael Jackson, Kanye West, the Mamas and the Papas, Avril Lavigne, and P.D. "Creeque Allies" is a capsule history of the Maquis.
-
The record succeeds as its own body of work sans premise, thanks to Valdés' deft keyboards and arrangements (which gives the proceedings hues of '50s hits, '60s soul and breezy Euro-pop) and Argos' patented sincere-or-smarmy delivery (the thing that makes Art Brut so compelling).
-
Much of Fixin' The Charts would work even without its central gimmick. Valdés supplies credible hooks and winning girl-group harmonies, and Argos' lyrics never separate wit from emotion
-
The witty words about awkward relationships come straight from Art Brut but 'Fixin' The Charts' is also a response to classic American pop songs, with modern sequels to Motown, Dylan and, er, Kanye. The downside is that the songs are so melodic they make it sound like Argos is doing karaoke.
-
As always, Argos stumbles into poignancy on his way to the punch line.
-
UncutArch novelty rather than post-modern profundity, then, but it's a damn sight smarter than the Barron Knights ever were. [Feb 2010, p.84]
-
MojoQuality inessential entertainment. [Mar 2010, p.97]
-
Fixin' the Charts really comes down to the jokes and the concept--how much you appreciate it will depend on how much the idea appeals to you in the first place, and how well you can tolerate Argos' sung/spoken/ranted vocal approach, but it's definitely good for at least a chuckle.
-
Under The RadarChances are most of these tune lack the staying power of those that inspire them, but a few are real gems in a way that transcends the mischief. [winter 2010, p.68]
-
Like the band's name, which reeks of lazy jokery slapped onto a tiring concept, the album is trite, cute, and completely forgettable.
-
Q MagazineAmusing on first listen but--as with so many records sold on amusing wordplay alone--it doesn't stand up to repeated exposure. [Feb 2010, p.105]
-
Argos is still witty, but here his punchlines tend to be predictable, due in part perhaps to the disc's overstretched answer-song conceit.
-
Fixin' The Charts comes with a lofty goal: to grind down the blemishes that mar the rock face of the popular music mythos. But to attempt to "fix" history, to paint over its wrongs with a broad, sneerish stroke, is a gross mis-step in the career of one of anti-pop's savviest purveyors.