REVIEW : The Family - Magnet Magazine

The press release for Joseph Arthur’s latest triumph opens with a quote from Anna Karenina where Leo Tolstoy notes the disparity of families, particularly the uniformity of happiness and the singularity of melancholy. That immutable reality forms the heart of Arthur’s heartrending emotional travelogue, from the weary loss of a military family on “The Flag” (“We used to say ‘In God We Trust,’ but I’m not sure anymore/Today I think I’ve had enough”) to the exhausted single father with the kids and a chemically dependent ex-wife on “You Wear Me Out” (“You should see them when they ask for you/What should I tell them since I can’t tell them the truth?”).

Although The Family isn’t autobiographical, Arthur used his own family tales as grist for his songwriting mill, finding and expanding the universal truths among his personal experiences. And like nearly every Arthur album over the past two decades, the hallmark of The Family is his impeccable facility for sonic atmosphere; crafting a soundtrack of keening violin, shimmering guitars, a quietly emotive rhythm section, Arthur’s plaintive vocal presence and a majestic Steinway combine in the musical translation of the love, joy, heartbreak and quiet resignation that grace and afflict every familial unit. Arthur understands the power of Robert Fripp’s harrowing soundscapes, Peter Gabriel’s quiet reflection and Brian Eno’s ambient intensity, and how to focus them all through his own lens to fashion his remarkably unique artistic vision. Just like one’s real family, Arthur’s Family will lift you up, tear you down, make you face your despair and allow you a glimmer of hope.

Brian Baker