Premier Guitar features affiliate links to help support our content. We may earn a commission on any affiliated purchases.

Arthur Channel's "Arthur Channel" Album Review

Arthur Channel is replete with tremulous verses, soaring choruses, ambient guitars, and dashes of discord.


Arthur Channel
Arthur Channel
The End Records

Recorded after rookie singer/guitarist Jon Greene sent a three-song demo to former Chili Peppers and Pearl Jam drummer Jack Irons and Wallflowers bassist Greg Richling, Arthur Channel is replete with tremulous verses, soaring choruses, ambient guitars, and dashes of discord. Richling produced the effort, but Alain Johannes sonic fingerprints abound, too. Tapped by Queens of the Stone Age and others for his 6-string prowess as much as his multi-instrumental abilities, Johannes—who mixed the album, played guitar on "New Life," and contributed various instrumentation to other tracks—employs his je ne sais quoi with timbres and tonalities to imbue the songs with a vibe that’s at once sweetly mesmerizing and ghostly. Session veteran Lyle Workman contributes stellar guitar work throughout, including the swirling, Holdsworth-for-the-masses solo on “Vapor.” More dynamic tempos and a little more attitude here and there couldn’t hurt, but Irons and Richling wisely let Greene’s catchy songs, somber-yet-hopeful lyrics, and rich voice—think Incubus’ Brandon Boyd meets Remy Zero’s Cinjun Tate—carry the album. This is what your local stations should be playing.

Must-Hear Tracks: “Thirst of the Universe” and “New Life”

- YouTube

Alongside Nicolas Jaar’s electronics, Harrington creates epic sagas of sound with a team of fine-tuned pedalboards.

Read MoreShow less
- YouTube

PG contributor Tom Butwin dives into five clever, gig-ready tuner options—some you’ve seen, and at least one you haven’t. From strobe accuracy to metronome mashups and strap-mounted stealth, these tools might just make tuning fun again.

Read MoreShow less

The Melvins' Buzz Osborne joins the party to talk about how he helped Kurt Cobain find the right sounds.

Read MoreShow less

Adding to the company’s line of premium guitar strapsand accessories, Fairfield Guitar Co. has introduced a new deluxe leather strapdesigned in collaboration with Angela Petrilli.

Read MoreShow less