Art Brut on the Rise

In Monday's Trib, Greg Kot crowned a champion from the recent South by Southwest Music Festival in Austin, Texas. Out of the 1,400 bands who performed, he narrowed his title of "the festival's best band" to just one (it is a superlative, so I guess it doesn't make sense to share). It wasn't Arctic Monkeys, as he (and buckets of others) seemed to expect. No, he bestowed the honor upon Talk Talk Talk Talk Talk fave Art Brut. I don't know how much weight Kot's opinion can carry in this town, but all I can say is that I'm glad I already have my ticket for their show at the Metro a week from Thursday. Here's what I thought from when I saw them for the first time a few months ago.