Che Arthur – Iron (CD)

While Che Arthur has been behind the soundboard during the live shows of bands like Minus The Bear, Trans Am, and Thursday, it is eir stint in the File 13 band Atombombpocketknife that individuals may recall Arthur from the most. After releasing eir first solo album, “All Of Your Tomorrows Were Decided Today” on Flameshovel, Arthur moved to Sick Room and released this, “Iron”. “Iron” is given the most energy by tracks like “Dead Trajectories”. While “Dead Trajectories” seems to start out in a way that is comparable to Operation Cliff Clavin (at least the vocal component), the harder-edged indie rock that ultimately becomes the norm for the track is something that is even more impressive than the track’s beginning would allow.

The guitars and drums blend together to make an energetic backdrop for Che’s vocals. The instrumentation is doubly impressive as it furthers harmonies that will bounce around listeners’ minds for weeks, if not months to come. This is what Interpol should do, what Korn would do if there were more impressive influences behind their music; this is a combination of the best part of those bands and a synthesizing of a new, yet familiar form. Arthur succeeds fully with a track like “Dead Trajectories”. “Bistrica” is the next song of note on “Iron”, and this track uses a much more organic sounding guitar to lay out how the rest of the track will sound. During the opening to this song, there seems to be a lot more in the way of repetition to start off the track. The drums seem to be a little dingy and off-sounding during this track, but this may be an intention decision on the part of Arthur to craft a specific sound for the track.

The shambling, Morrison-like style of Arthur during this track lends credence to this argument, and further shows that the individual is a master of creating an overall sound for the tracks on “Iron”. The fact that the vocals can shift into a Neil Young-type of sound during this track further shows Arthur’s ability; “Iron” is an album with a high amount of solid track, unlike many of the albums currently released that only have a paucity of interesting songs. Arthur’s post-Atombombpocketknife work is leaps above and beyond what was previously released. This is well worth the purchase price, so dig up a copy or order it from your local independent record store.

Top Tracks: To The Core, Kerosene

Rating: 7.0/10

[JMcQ]

Che Arthur – Iron / 2007 Sick Room / 10 Tracks / http://www.chearthur.com / http://www.sickroomrecords.com / Reviewed 22 April 2007