Joseph Arthur & Peter Buck Of R.E.M. Announce Debut Album ‘Arthur Buck’

Singer-songwriter Joseph Arthur and R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck have teamed to form the new project Arthur Buck. The collaboration’s self-titled debut album will be issued on New West Records on June 15. The album’s lead single, “I Am The Moment,” premiered via NPR Music.

Arthur was a supporting act during R.E.M. tours in the early-2000s and Buck subsequently backed Arthur on a number of occasions since. Arthur produced the 11-track Arthur Buck, which was mixed by Tchad Blake. Buck and Arthur co-wrote each of the songs on the album, eight of which were composed in three days during a summit in Mexico in late-2017.

“My first thought was, ‘Hey, I’ll get Peter to play acoustic guitar on some of the stuff I’m working on!,’” said Arthur. “So I started showing him songs. But he was like, ‘That’s cool. Now check this out.’ And he started playing chords and whatnot. So I put my guitar down and began singing over his changes, and it was magical. It was easy. And these great songs just started popping out.”

Initial recording sessions were held at Portland, Oregon’s Type Foundry Studio, with additional work done at Arthur’s Brooklyn, New York-based studio.

“It was all new songs, and it was spontaneous,” Buck stated. “And the great thing about working that way was that it didn’t have to be anything in particular. It was liberated from any expectation. It was free.”

Expect Arthur Buck tour dates to be announced in the near future. Premiered by NPR Music, watch the “I Am The Moment” video below:

Arthur Buck Tracklist

1. I Am The Moment
2. Are You Electrified?
3. The Wanderer
4. Forever Waiting
5. If You Wake Up In Time
6. Summertime
7. American Century
8. Forever Falling
9. Before Your Love Is Gone
10. Wide Awake In November
11. Can’t Make It Without You