Dark pop
Unless dark-pop is your thing, stay well away from this record; electro dances underneath the Mighty Boosh collaborator's songs along with glitchy synth lines, 90s indie-rock guitar sounds and poppy vocal lines. First impressions are that it's very reminiscent of bands like Echo and the Bunnymen who were thankfully shrugged off in the 80s and 90s only to reappear in the never-ending wave of pointless reformations. At times it also feels like it might almost have a place with the recent slew of 'steam-punk' bands attempting to soundtrack the genre - the mix of old and new, the electro meets strings and the gothy undertones and otherworldly out-of-time feel bring on this comparison, but this isn't consistent throughout and there is a lot more going on here.
Essentially this is a pop record with string sounds bringing an expansive quality, there are some decent tunes - Wrong Empire has a great melody and is almost anthemic at times. Selling Ideas is really nice, darkly poppy but sweetly melodic and rich sounding and Black Market Futures hits the spot with a darker more Soft Cell-ish edge and is one of the album's standouts. However some tunes will test you - title track Arts and Sciences has a generic dance beat and is (in this reviewers opinion) horribly 80s pop - it's very Pet Shop Boys (shudder).
As mentioned previously this album is pop through and through, hinting at bands like The Pet Shop Boys, Soft Cell and Echo and the Bunnymen - a darker edge and softer more anthemic and sweeping moments make it more palatable for certain tastes.