REVIEW : Let's Just Be - Montreal Gazette

by Jordan Zivitz

Note : 3,5

Arthur's been his own best friend, thanks to his overdub expertise. So why hire a gang of interlopers? The galactic thrill of Spaceman provides the answer: There are places a man can't travel to alone. An often ragged, always vibrant sound pours out of Arthur's motley crew, and their leader has never sounded more liberated. 

The price of liberation is self-indulgence: There's a fine line between Arthur's intuitive skills and a frustratingly casual approach that devalues his career's new chapter (the 20-minute track Lonely Astronaut includes 12 superfluous minutes of mantras and noodling). With at least a half-dozen prime jewels unveiled a mere seven months after his last album (the harrowing Nuclear Daydream), Arthur's bouts of Dumpster-diving only tarnish his crown.