Joseph Arthur

Never one to lack confidence in his abilities, Joseph Arthur released a full album's worth of material during the first four months of 2008, collected on the EPs Could We Survive and Crazy Rain (with the promise of more to come, of course). Very similar to the previous year's Let's Just Be, Crazy Rain has up-front productions with buzzing guitars and distorted effects making the largest impression. Arthur's vocal performances are comparatively down in the mix; it's a good blend of production and performance, although Arthur's songwriting apparently isn't keeping up with his musical ideas (evinced by the particularly weak "I Wanna Get You Alone"). The upbeat songs are best, all of them very well recorded and taking advantage of his Lonely Astronaut studio (as well as a returned favor from guest vocalist Greg Dulli). ~ John Bush, All Music Guide