Arthur Shea is a Philly native musician with an impressive resume for a 21-year-old. As one half of the original lo-fi outfit Joy Again, he makes indie-rock under the name ARTHUR and released his biggest album yet, Woof Woof, last month. Shea jams a lot of unique songwriting into short songs without trouble. He blends twee, indie, country, post-punk, and dream pop into one palatable record. Woof Woof has a runtime of 25 minutes between 16 songs, but don’t be turned off, Shea’s shortest tracks are some of his most charming.
“Woof Woof” is the intro and title track of Shea’s latest full-length record. It serves as an introduction to the mythos of ARTHUR. This includes his engaging lyrical style and idiosyncratic high pitched vocal delivery. He yelps out from the very first lyric “Am I pretty? Do I deserve to be?” summarizing his back-and-forth depressive state centered around his self-worth that features quite a bit throughout the record. The track is beautifully recorded. The bass and drums sound especially crisp and tight under Shea’s adolescent voice, bouncing happily away despite the strikingly dark lyrics. “Woof Woof”’s barnyard essence coupled with Shea’s heartbreaking lyrics makes for one of the best album openers in 2018. It easily tyies together the entire record in under two minutes flat. Check out the rest of Woof Woof on PLZ Make It Ruins now!
