The second of two new albums released on the same day from US singer/songwriter Joseph Arthur, LET'S JUST BE is unfortunately the first time round that the usually sublime artist has let his quality control slip.  Teamed up with his band, The Lonely Astronaut rather than in his usual solo guise, LET'S JUST BE feels like a self indulgent project from the start, the sound of Arthur having a good time in the recording studio rather than a cohesive and satisfying album.

Opener DIAMOND RING is one of the records better moments, a derivative Stones-esque rock n roller perhaps but at the least a song that highlights the bands potential.  SPACEMAN is another of the albums stronger tracks, a sound more akin to his solo work but with the added depth and vision of a living breathing band, discordant guitar squalls and off kilter backing vocals lending the song the personality and attitude to captivate.

GOOD LIFE indulges the bands more avant garde leanings, periods of tuneless noodling lending The Lonely Astronauts the feel of a less talented and less interesting take on Sonic Youth, whilst on the at times excruciating COCKTEEZE, Arthur wails tunelessly over knuckle headed riffing, the sound of a bands very first rehearsals rather than the work of someone capable of the sublime and glorious.  The twenty minute plus LONELY ASTRONAUT is the records most self indulgent and pointless moment though, the band again reverting to bad Sonic Youth impersonations, the song running out of ideas less than half way through and the whole thing descending into a dull extended jam session that whilst perhaps funny at three in the morning whilst stoned, makes for incredibly dull and pointless listening in the cold light of day.

Elsewhere LET'S JUST BE constantly veers between the average and the dull, a song like COCAINE FEET attempts to carbon copy the rock n roll excess of Queens Of The Stone Age to disappointing effect, whilst the lo fi rumblings of SHAKE IT OFF is another case of probably fun at the time but not worth committing to tape for prosperity.

As you'd expect with a singer/songwriter as talented as Joseph Arthur, the odd moment of genius still manages to shine through; LACK A VISION is as beautiful and sublime as anything from his solo records, something shared by the equally impressive sounding I WILL CARRY YOU, CHICAGO and STAR SONG.

An ultimately disappointing record, LET'S JUST BE is a lesson in letting your self indulgent urges cloud your usually impeccable judgements; this more a case of Joseph Arthur And The Lonely Astronauts kicking back and having a laugh in the studio rather than committing to a cohesive and coherent record.  Still with the odd moment of genius managing to shine through, you can at least manage to salvage the potential at work here; let's just hope that next time round, someone has the sense and taste to exhibit enough quality control to extract that potential more fully.

Joseph Arthur was born in Akron, Ohio, became a song-writing obsessive in Atlanta, Georgia, and later moved to New York, where he still lives.  In 1996, Joseph was a guitar salesman working for the minimum wage at Clark's Music in Atlanta.  Frustrated, broke, musing a life of crime, he returned home one day to find a message on his answer phone that would change everything.  The calm, quintessentially English voice he heard belonged to Peter Gabriel.  The surreal and the hyper-real merged, Gabriel and his buddy Lou Reed coming to see Joseph play a showcase gig in New York after which they all dined alongside Dolly Parton.  Soon, Joseph would become the first rock artist to sign to Gabriel's Real World label, releasing BIG CITY SECRETS in 1996, the 7-song EP VACANCY in 1999, COME TO WHERE I'M FROM in 2000, and the aforementioned REDEMPTION'S SON in 2002.

Nuclear Daydream is Arthur’s fifth full-length album, a lushly composed collection of 12 original and epic songs of romance and despair, from one of the world’s most prolific artists. The album was released in the US late last year to widespread acclaim. Vanity Fair described the album as “a glorious work of art”, while Entertainment Weekly called it “an epic tale of romantic loss that is haunting, mournful, and ultimately hopeful.” 

Let’s Just Be was written immediately after Arthur’s last tour with his new band The Lonely Astronauts. Filled with ideas, the band found themselves entrenched in a Los Angeles studio for three weeks. “The idea for us was to record all of these new songs straight to tape using only 16 tracks with no reverb, sort of a back to basics like how the Stones or Neil Young used to record,” says Arthur. 

Not content with writing and developing two new albums this year, Arthur has just launched his own gallery and performance space on Jay Street, New York, titled The Museum of Modern Arthur (MOMAR). Well known as an artist both musically and on canvas, the development of MOMAR follows on from the release of Arthur’s first book of paintings entitled We Almost Made It, which included the instrumental album The Invisible Parade in May 2006.

Joseph Arthur was born in Akron, Ohio, became a song-writing obsessive in Atlanta, Georgia, and later moved to New York, where he still lives. In 1996 Arthur would become the first rock artist to sign to Peter Gabriel’s Real World label, releasing four albums on the imprint between 1996 and 2002. In July 2005 Arthur released the album Our Shadows Will Remain in the UK through 14th Floor Records. The album was rapturously commended with Time Out describing it as “a series of beautifully crafted songs. Majestic” and the Sunday Times “as good as music gets”.

Joseph Arthur>www.josepharthur.com