Art Brut, Pet Shop Boys, Depeche Mode: A Good Week for (British) Records!

Like tunes? Love British people? Then you must be so psyched right now, with these three new music releases out this week.

There's Art Brut's third album, Art Brut vs. Satan, which is at this point the only one I've heard all the way through (though I'm planning on remedying that soon!). There's a lot of talk that it's a "return to form" to the glory days of Bang Bang Rock and Roll, but I dunno, I thought It's a Bit Complicated was pretty cool, too ("di-rect hit! di-rect hit!"). This one is (unsurprisingly) a lot of fun, with second track "DC Comics and Chocolate Milkshake" standing out (and hitting somewhat close to home, not gonna lie). Art Brut have a lot of LA dates coming up: several in mid-June at Spaceland and June 19 at the Echo, but nothing in OC. Still. Worth the drive, ya turkeys.
Two of the biggest British electronic/dance/alternative/throw in some other genre acts of the '80s also have new albums this week. Depeche Mode's Sounds of the Universe, their first new one since 2005's Playing the Angel, has attracted pretty solid reviews. They're coming to the Honda Center in Anaheim on August 19. I saw them on the Playing the Angel tour, and it was pretty neat, especially if you like lots of big-screen video close-ups of Dave Gahan's butt and stomach. And who doesn't? Silly question.

Pet Shop Boys are not coming to OC, LA or anywhere in the country any time soon, but they do have a new album as well, Yes. It's their first studio album since Fundamental in 2006, and it's also getting positive reviews. I saw them once at the Arizona State Fair. Weird. And awesome.