Joseph Arthur refers to his music as "someone struggling to heal over experimental folk-rock." His major-label career began after he received an unexpected answering machine message from Peter Gabriel offering him a contract on Gabriel's Real World label. Arthur's music employs a wide range of musical influences, adorning his songs with instruments as diverse as hurdy gurdy, corn horn, Venetian xylophone, caxixi, birimbau and harmonic missles. Experimental folk-rock is an apt label for such eclectic instrumentation. As for "struggling to heal," Arthur's strategy appears to be to heal through catharsis. His lyrics are populated with angsty lines like "You're easy for me to bleed on," "Put my daddy on Prozac, I don't think I want him back" and "You became a spider as I fed you the blood from my nose." All that "healing" can get to be a bit overbearing, especially when expressed in Arthur's tortured vocals. In his most restrained moments, his voice resembles David Rice or Jeffrey Gaines, but at his most extreme he's a dead ringer for Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins. The songwriting is at its best when Arthur uses his sharp ear for melody, as on "Mikel K," "Big City Secret," and the harmonica-driven "Mercedes," which features background vocals from Brian Eno and Gabriel himself. The album's weaker offerings ("Desert," "Porcupine") have a tendency to drone tunelessly. But even then the weakness of the melody is somewhat mitigated by the inventiveness of the arrangements, and it's easy to see what attracted Gabriel to this promising artist. ~ Evan Cater, All Music Guide
Peter Gabriel (Vocals (Background)), Ray Martin (Engineer), Ron Aslan (Drum Loop), Martyn Barker (Percussion), Martyn Barker (Drums), Martyn Barker (Gong), Martyn Barker (Berimbau), Martyn Barker (Caxixi), Martyn Barker (Drums (Snare)), Martyn Barker (?), Martyn Barker (Scaffolphoneum), Markus Dravs (Percussion), Markus Dravs (Accordion), Markus Dravs (Drums), Markus Dravs (Horn), Markus Dravs (Keyboards), Markus Dravs (Producer), Markus Dravs (Drum Programming), Markus Dravs (Mixing), Markus Dravs (Sheet Metal), Nigel Eaton (Hurdygurdy), Simon Edwards (Bass), Simon Edwards (Guitar), Simon Edwards (Harmonica), Simon Edwards (Piano), Simon Edwards (Arranger), Simon Edwards (Berimbau), Simon Edwards (Mellotron), Brian Eno (Vocals), Brian Eno (Vocals (Background)), Paul Morris (Editing), Nick Plytas (Mellotron), Ashley Slater (Trombone), Roger Beaujolais (Xylophone), Roger Beaujolais (Vibraphone), Goetz Botzenhardt (Engineer), Ben Findlay (Engineer), Ben Findlay (?), Ben Findlay (Digital Editing), Ben Findlay (Mixing), Joseph Arthur (Bass), Joseph Arthur (Guitar), Joseph Arthur (Harmonica), Joseph Arthur (Vocals), Joseph Arthur (Main Performer), Joseph Arthur (Illustrations), Joseph Arthur (Paintings), Joseph Arthur (Drawing), Lee Phillips (Assistant Engineer), Ruadhri Cushnan (Engineer), Crispin Murray (Editing), Nick Kirkland (Engineer), Nick Kirkland (?), Mark Aubury (Assistant Engineer), Ibi Tijani (Engineer), Jacquie Turner (Engineer), Michele Turriani (Photography), Tristan Manco (Graphic Design), Tristan Manco (Design), Justin Griffith (Assistant Engineer)
