Named after French painter Jean Debuffet's definition of outsider art -- art by prisoners, loners, the mentally ill, and other marginalized people, and made without thought to imitation or presentation -- South London's Art Brut make simple, cleverly stupid art-punk. The band alleges that they began writing songs five minutes after they formed, including their single Formed a Band, which featured lyrics like "I wanna be the boy/The man that writes the song/That makes Israel and Palestine/Get along." Art Brut recorded a demo, Brutlegs, that attracted the attention of Rough Trade, which signed the band and then released Formed a Band in spring 2004. Art Brut released another volume of Brutlegs later that spring and continued to play select dates throughout the summer and fall. Late in 2004, the Modern Art single arrived; in spring 2005, Art Brut were back on tour again and released the Emily Kane single just before their full-length debut, Bang Bang Rock & Roll was issued that summer. The album earned a lot of critical acclaim from both the U.K. and the U.S.The band made it across the pond to the States in fall 2005, coinciding with the release of Bang Bang Rock & Roll's fourth single, Good Weekend. Around that time, Chinchilla departed the band to be replaced by guitarist Jasper Future. The revamped Art Brut embarked on a series of European and U.K. dates in late 2005 and early 2006, returning to the U.S. in support of the stateside release of Bang Bang Rock & Roll. The band moved to Mute and worked with producer Dan Swift on their second album, 2007's It's a Bit Complicated.