Joseph Arthur & The Lonely Astronauts

w/ Stars of Track and Field

Friday, May 18 @ 40 Watt Club

originally published May 16, 2007

Even if you don’t recall his music, you are probably aware of Joseph Arthur. Michael Stipe chose Arthur’s song “In the Sun” for his Katrina benefit EP/foundation of the same name, recording six different versions of the song, featuring Arthur, Chris Martin of Coldplay and Will.I.Am of the Black Eyed Peas. Arthur’s charitable contributions aren’t limited to the In the Sun Foundation; in August of 2006, he became involved in “A River Blue,” a project that aims to enhance the lives of displaced children and adults in Uganda by providing resources for them to create video, photography, music and art. During Arthur’s stay there, he recorded several versions of “A River Blue” with a choir of roughly 100 Ugandan children.

The Ohio native has been putting out albums since 1997; he wrote his first one in a sleazy apartment off Atlanta’s Ponce de Leon Avenue while working as a clerk at dearly departed record shop Clark Music. A demo ended up in the hands of none other than Peter Gabriel, and Arthur embarked upon a career as an eclectic singer-songwriter, experimenting in a variety of genres with his numerous albums, creating the abstract artwork for those albums himself.

Arthur toured solo until the release of last year’s Nuclear Daydream, using looping pedals to create layers of guitars and vocals. With lines like "I won't ever cry for you anymore / The days when I would die for you are now gone," it's hard to escape the overwhelming sadness pervading Nuclear Daydream, an album scored by needles, pills and a broken heart. Redemption is found not just in the poetry created in response to loss, but in the arrangement, an amalgamation of hooks, shimmery guitar and atmospheric keys, the layered vocals showcasing Arthur’s range, seamlessly slipping between his contrasting falsetto, bass and tenor.

This tour sees him embark with band The Lonely Astronauts, featuring guitarist Jennifer Turner (Natalie Merchant, Furslide), guitarist Kraig Johnson (Jayhawks, Golden Smog), bassist Sibyl Buck and drummer Greg Wieczorek (The Autumn Defense). Let’s Just Be is the group's new full-band album.

Deirdre Sayre