QRO’s review of Joseph Arthur at Manchester Deaf Institute in Manchester, U.K. on November 9th, 2016
Photos of Joseph Arthur at Carnegie Hall in New York, NY on March 7th, 2018
Photos of Joseph Arthur at Apollo Theater in New York, NY on May 23rd, 2017
Photos of Joseph Arthur at Guitar Mash Jam at City Winery in New York, NY on December 11th, 2016
Photos of Joseph Arthur at Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn, NY on October 4th, 2014
Photos of Joseph Arthur at 2011 Osheaga Music Festival in Montreal, PQ, Canada
QRO’s review of Joseph Arthur at Manchester Deaf Institute on July 21st, 2009
QRO’s review of Joseph Arthur at Museum of Modern Arthur in Brooklyn, NY on April 26th, 2008
Unabashed emotion has been on a major upswing, as the irony and sarcasm of hipsters has given way to starker feelings in today’s fraught world. Long-serving NYC musician Joseph Arthur has been no stranger to emotion, but maybe taps into it as best he’s ever done on Come Back World.
There are sly and wry pieces on World, like the wry titular opener and the sly single “Seek and Find”, but both still deliver intimate feelings. “Tomorrow Today” manages to be both hopeful and wistful, “Biggest Mistake” sweet and charming, while “Mayor of the Lower Eastside” is an on-the-ground love letter to the artistically fertile Manhattan neighborhood.
Joseph Arthur does not shy away from putting his heart on his sleeve with Come Back World, and he shouldn’t. The intimacy of the songwriting differentiates him from the giant bombast of millennial pop star emotion, keeping the quality high.