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Peter Gabriel discovered Joseph Arthur
in the mid-90’s, and since then he has remained
beneath the mainstream radar, while being generally
well received by critics. Redemptions Son,
released in 2002, was his most commercially successful
album, but did not manage to launch Arthur into
the social consciousness. It just goes to show,
since he received a Grammy nomination for his EP
Vacancy, but for the packaging rather than
the music it contained.
Arthur’s latest release is Vagabond
Skies, an EP designed as a preview
for his upcoming full-length album, Temporary
People. It is his third release
since starting his own Lonely Astronaut label,
and much more polished than his last. A meandering
album, Let’s Just Be showed the worst-case
scenario of what happens when an artist is given
unfettered reign over a work. It sounded more
like a recording of raw studio work, than an actual
album.
Vagabond Skies remains rooted in the
folk-country style Arthur has cultivated over
the past decade. “Slow Me Down,” starts
off with a hazy, dream-like feel that continues
through the rest of the six tracks. The vocal
harmonies that build over the acoustic and slide
guitars are what make this the best song of the
bunch.
After the opener things become darker and slow
down until it hits “She Paints Me in Gold.”
It is the longest song on the album, and seems
longer than the rest put together. It has the
sound of an overwrought seventies ballad that
needs to be sprayed with the hose. The prolonged
guitar solo over ooh-ing and ahh-ing becomes excruciating
after a while.
However, the next song, “Second Sight,”
brings a welcome change in tempo and style. This
tune makes heavy use of synthesizer and drum machine
combined with violin. It is somehow upbeat, but
a little terrifying.
Overall, Vagabond Skies is a promising if imperfect
EP. It gets so slow that it tends to drag, but
filled in with the right songs it could work.
myspace.com/josepharthur
-Ian Nelson, July 9, 2008
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