REVIEW : The Graduation Ceremony - Glide Magazine

June 8, 2011 by Gabriel Scheer

Some albums grow on a person – making you like them with repeated listenings. When that happens I often wonder whether I actually like the album and it just took me a while to appreciate it, or whether repetition and subsequent familiarity are simply masquerading as actual appreciation. Other albums, though, grab one immediately with their emotional poignancy. Is that the fact that timing and emotional state of the listener are simply perfect for the musical offering? Or more that some musicians simply have a gift of connecting powerfully, and quickly, through their music?

Regardless of the reason, Joseph Arthur’s new album, The Graduation Ceremony, falls into the latter group. It grabs the listener from the start with its emotional immediacy, the flow from one beautifully-crafted song to the next. It doesn’t break new ground, specifically; long-time appreciators of Joseph Arthur will find much here reminiscent of past work. For example, the album’s second track bears beautiful memory (and nearly a guitar riff) of his earlier work “Honey and the Moon,” from Redemption’s Son; that song, by this writer’s ear, is a true gem of melodic, folk-inspired pop, and “Horses” successfully follows in its footsteps.

The album is an easy listen, start to finish; it’s beautiful as background music, but is also a great lyrical exploration. Standout tracks include the gorgeous “This Is Still My World,” the atmospheric “Over the Sun,” and “Love Never Asks You To Lie.”