Peter Buck of R.E.M. and Joseph Arthur team up for another album slated for October

Arthur Buck – the musical partnership of singer/songwriter Joseph Arthur and ex-R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck – has unveiled details of second album, Arthur Buck 2, arriving via Arthur’s own Lonely Astronaut Records on Friday, October 3. Pre-orders/pre-saves are available now.

Arthur Buck’s first new collection since their self-titled 2018 debut, Arthur Buck 2 sees the duo joining forces with GRAMMY® Award-winning producer Jacknife Lee (R.E.M., U2) along with all-star backing that includes Buck’s longtime collaborators in such bands as The Minus 5, The Baseball Project, and Filthy Friends, bassist Scott McCaughey and drummer Linda Pitmon, along with veteran keyboardist/multi-instrumentalist Gregg Foreman (The Delta 5, Cat Power, Jesse Malin), and more. The album's opening track, “Sleep With One Eye Open” is available everywhere now. An official music video directed by Joseph Arthur and Amelie Chopinet is streaming on YouTube.

“A classic rock ‘n’ roll tune with a simple theme,” says Joseph Arthur. “To be the protector, or perhaps the paranoid partner? This one introduces some wah-wah lead work by me, which becomes a bit more prevalent as the album continues. Intense background vocals by Corin Tucker from Sleater-Kinney and a welcome horn section give it even more classic rock gravitas.”

LISTEN TO “SLEEP WITH ONE EYE OPEN”

WATCH "SLEEP WITH ONE EYE OPEN" OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO

PRE-ORDER/PRE-SAVE ARTHUR BUCK 2

Singer and songwriter Joseph Arthur and guitarist Peter Buck had been friends and occasional collaborators for almost two decades before they finally teamed up to record an album under the name Arthur Buck. Having first met in 2000 when Arthur opened a string of dates for R.E.M., Buck would occasionally join Arthur on-stage in the years that followed. 

2016 saw Arthur invited to perform at the Todos Santos Music Festival, an all-star event presented by Buck near his home in Todos Santos, Mexico. Arthur left his Dobro guitar behind, and in 2017, he returned to Todos Santos in hopes of finding it. Buck invited him to spend some time at his home, where they spent several days swimming in the ocean and playing guitars together. Arthur shared a few ideas he’d been working on, and it instantly sparked a collaboration. The pair knocked out eight tunes in little more than three days, making their live debut as Arthur Buck the next evening at a benefit concert for local firefighters.

Arthur returned home and soon thereafter invited Buck to sit in at a Los Angeles gallery show, where they debuted three more songs written earlier that day during soundcheck. Four days later, Arthur Buck set to work in a Portland, OR studio, tracking the songs they’d written together in just seven productive hours. Additional overdubs were recorded in the two musicians’ respective home studios and then shared with legendary mixer Tchad Blake (Elvis Costello, T Bone Burnett, The Black Keys) to weave into what proved Arthur Buck’s self-titled debut album. 

Released in June 2018, Arthur Buck contained a roughly hewn but expertly crafted blend of classic rock, indie folk, and socially conscious lyricism. 

Arthur Buck did a series of North American and European live dates. Now, more than half a decade later, Arthur and Buck have rekindled their partnership with Arthur Buck 2. Many songs originated during their 2018 tour. 

Track list:

Sleep With One Eye Open

Where Did You Go?
Love At First Sight
No Answer
Fall In Love With Me
Average Ghost
Don’t Try To Understand
Not So Modern Now
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