REVIEW : Nuclear Daydream - The Washington Post

By Patrick Foster


Halfway through "Nuclear Daydream," Joseph Arthur cautions, "I'm no longer who I was / No longer who I thought I was." Those lines make "You Are Free" one of the disc's most striking songs, but they aren't the key to this hypnotic record. On his fifth album, Arthur has undergone not a radical transformation, but a reaffirmation: His haunted songscapes and unflinching interpersonal exams have never been presented so effectively.

"Nuclear Daydream" is both the perfect introduction to Arthur's music and a continuing escalation of his vision. But it's hardly a compromise: Arthur has made the disc the first release on his own Lonely Astronaut label, and perhaps freedom from record company purse strings has fostered this flowering in his songwriting.

But with Arthur, the blooms are always dark and enigmatic. The disc begins with "Too Much to Hide," a toe-tapping rock-popper, but as with his powerful, multilayered paintings (Arthur pursues a parallel art career), first glances don't tell the story. "Black Lexus" leads a series of post-apocalyptic folk sketches that build toward the smoldering title track, a weary personal resignation. In between, Arthur, who plays most of the disc's instruments, accents his ruminations with strung-out piano worthy of Big Star's Third ("Don't Give Up on People"), sweet soul rushes ("Automatic Situation," "Slide Away") and the addictive "Enough to Get Away," which channels Nick Lowe and XTC. Like much of Arthur's unjustly unrecognized catalogue, "Nuclear Daydream" doesn't scream and stomp for your attention. But give it a chance, and it will haunt you for weeks.