Joseph Arthur and The Lonely Astronauts

Joseph Arthur and The Lonely Astronauts

Let’s Just Be

May 5, 2007

By Mr. Marlowe

***1/2 / ****

Released April 17, 2007

The Joseph Arthur juggernaut continues to roll with his latest release, Let’s Just Be. Flanked for the first time by backing band The Lonely Astronauts, and now completely in control of his own musical destiny (released on his own Lonely Astronaut label) the mad-scientist of folk-rock pulls out all stops on his 6th LP release in ten years.

While Arthur’s last two albums were genuine masterpieces (2004’s Our Shadows Will Remain and 2006’s Nuclear Daydream), Let’s Just Be willfully stretches the limits of those records in both successful and pretentious ways. Arthur is more obvious with his influences this time but comes out on top of many an impersonator successfully channeling both Mick Jagger and Bob Dylan. The Jaggeresque Cocaine Feet and Diamond Ring churn and burn in beautiful homage to the sticky fingered troubadour at his rambunctious best. Likewise, Dylan’s odd melodic mannerisms are joyfully celebrated with sitar on Star Song, a tune of twisted imagery and off-kilter lyrical enunciation.

Other Arthur numbers are equally satisfying with folk and pop appeal and a hint of eccentric artistic dabbling (Take Me Home and Chicago, in particular, are little slices of heaven). The gem of the album though is Lack a Vision, a heartbreaking Arthur instant-classic that defines precisely why the man is one of the most talented musicians today: beautiful melodicism, subtle instrumental touches, and breathtaking lyrics.

Carefully guarded so as not to appear too much of a pop-idol, the pretension shows up in full force directly in the middle of the album with The Lonely Astronaut. A 20-minute epic featuring ten minutes of repetitive “I’s” sung over the fading in and out of various instruments, The Lonely Astronaut is willfully artistic flagellation at its most obvious and difficult. However, take out The Lonely Astronaut’s self-absorbed midpoint flourish, re-attach its beginning and end, and presto: proof-positive that the man is indeed a genius savant of the highest order. Several throw away experiments appear here and there to complete the cycle of oddness in an otherwise excellent album.

In sum, Let’s Just Be is a fun, contemporary country folk-rock gem that shows Joseph Arthur as ever more than three chords and the truth.