Art Brut Unveils Massive Box Set: “Apologies for the Unexpected Presentation! The Battle of Satan, 2009–2020.”

New Art Brut CD Announcement

Art Brut has unveiled a new CD set titled “SET SET,” which deviates from what was originally planned! Titled Fighting with Satan, 2009 – 2020, this collection incorporates various works from the indie band.

• Read more: Eddie Argos Art Bruta: “The vision of the courtyard was like looking at some strange ghost of the Christmas future”

Now here via Edsel Records, this latest release from the indie stalwarts represents the second and final compilation in a two-part series, following the “Record collection of 2024,” which has undergone a mix-up.

Compilation Highlights

Featuring five CDs recorded between 2009 and 2020, this set includes home demos, rarities, and B-sides. Frontman Eddie Argos stated that the box contains “many treasures accumulated over the years.” He further commented, “This is a collection of fantastic music, accompanied by an extensive essay about this fantastic music. You would be a fool not to grab a copy immediately.”

Compiled in direct collaboration with the band, the collection showcases several releases, including: “Art Brut vs Satan” (2009), “Art Brut vs Satan Brutlegs and B Parties,” “Brilliant! Tragic!” (2011), and “Wham! Flap! Question! Let’s Swing!” (2018), along with the bonus disc “Brutlegs, rare live cuts, and B-sides.”

According to the press release, the five-CD fold is packaged in a Deluxe 7 box set, complete with a 24-page illustrated zine, a bookmark by Argos, an archival photograph, and an original signed print by Art Brut.

Check the tracklist below.

Tracklist for Fighting with Satan, 2009–2020

First Disc: Art Brut vs Satan

1) “Alcoholics Unanimous”
2) “Comics DC and Chocolate Milk Cocktail”
3) “Passenger”
4) “I’m Normal”
5) “What a Rush”
6) “Demons!”
7) “Clothing a Line Without Money”
8) “Replacement”
9) “Twist & Shout”
10) “Summer Work”
11) “Mysterious Bruises”

Second Disc: Art Brut vs Satan Brutlegs and B

1) “Just Deserts”
2) “Positive 5th Street”
3) “Moved to Los Angeles”
4) “Strange Science”
5) “Catch” (Cure Cover)
6) “The Price You Pay for the Expectation”
7) “Art Brut 0 Satan 1” (early demo of Demons!)
8) “Art Brut vs Satan” (another early demo of Demons!)
9) “Science Fiction” (original home demo of Strange Science)
10) “Summer Work” (early demo)
11) “Rough Love” (home demo of What a Rush)
12) “Am I Normal?” (early demo)
13) “Public Transport, Please” (early demo of Passenger)
14) “Life Weekend” (early Alcoholics Unanimous demo)
15) “I Could Live Here” (early demo of Moved to Los Angeles)
16) “Am I Normal?” (T-shirts B leads to Drama)
17) “A Surge of Love” (T-shirt brings Drama)
18) “Richard, Where Is My Record”

Third Disc: Brilliant! Tragic! (Expanded)

1) “Smart Smart Jazz”
2) “Lost Weekend”
3) “Bad Comedian”
4) “Sexually Sometimes”
5) “Dog”
6) “Martin Kamp Welch 5 Aside the Rule”
7) “AXL Rose”
8) “I Am a Psyche”
9) “Hockey with Puck”
10) “Sealand”
11) “Non-Professional Struggle”
12) “Atlanta Girl” (Frank Black version)
13) “Arizona-Zaliv” (Frank Black version)
14) “Her Majesty” (Beatles cover)
15) “Arizona-Salve”
16) “We Make Pop Music”
17) “Lost Weekend” (home demo)

Fourth Disc: Wham! Flap! Question! Let’s Swing!

1) “Hurray!”
2) “I Hope You Are Very Happy Together”
3) “Good Morning, Berlin”
4) “She Kissed Me (and it Was Like a Hit!)”
5) “Schwarzfahrer”
6) “Hospital”
7) “Too Smart”
8) “Kultfigur”
9) “Veronica Falls”
10) “What! Flap! Question! Let’s Swing!”
11) “Awkward Breakfast”
12) “Your Enemies Are Also My Enemies”
13) “Hurray! (Alternative Version)”
14) “I Hope You Are Very Happy Together” (home demo)
15) “Hold This Minors” (unreleased session of the letter)
16) “Kultfigur” (demo)
17) “Veronica Falls” (demo version)
18) “She Kissed Me, and it Was Like a Hit” (home demo)

Fifth Disc: Brutlegs, B-sides & Rare Live Cuts

1) “Contemporary Art” (Berlin version)
2) “Mein Kleiner Bruder” (My Younger Brother)
3) “Fasting I Calm” (early demo for John Fortis)
4) “Next Exit Behind You”
5) “Smoked Again”
6) “Let’s Get Drunk About It”
7) “Day of the Records”
8) “Take Care of Me with Caution”
9) “Properties of Perception” (We Are Scientists)
10) “Great Escape / Free Bird” (We Are Scientists / covers Lynyrd Skynyrd)
11) “Contemporary Art” (Berlin Live)
12) “Fasting I Calm” (Berlin Live)

In an interview with NME last year, Argos reflected on the compilation boxes of the band, charting various scenes and breakthroughs in the indie sector, as well as how the group fits into the genre.

“I stood next to this on Pussuar, but I don’t think that we were really part of this,” Argos remarked regarding the Indie Sleaze label. “I’m just outside this picture. I’m in the bar on the street. It was quite careerist for many of these people, but it was interesting to be in the group.

“Honestly, we were pretty peculiar. We sang about band formation or contemporary art. I was obsessed with Jonathan Richman; we didn’t fit. We weren’t front and center like the guys from Libertines, and we didn’t have enough art school background to gel with Franz Ferdinand and the others, so we were just trying to make friends, you know?”