Arthur Beatrice - Keeping The Peace
- Written by Zoe Wallbank
Following the success of their first album, Arthur Beatrice are back with Keeping the Peace. Their mixture of soft ballad-like vocals over an upbeat melody sound similar to the likes of Florence and The Machine and is a combination not many other artists have successfully pulled off.
The album's strong point is the incredibly emotional and beautiful lyrics. From the moving lyrics of ‘Since We Were Young’ such as “One day I hope to look through another person's eye / To know that everyone is the same / The most composed are just as lost”, to lyrics with more attitude like “You make me seem like I’m crazy / But I’m not / I’m just tired of being the only one who cares” from ‘All I Ask’, and ‘Who Returned’: “Strength is no virtue / When you’ve no-one to hurt you / And you run from the things you want to feel.”
The common theme of the album is heartbreak with every track relating to it in some way: ‘Healing’ tells the story of the breakdown of a relationship (“I can’t wait for time to tell / If you’re too far gone / If you’re dead to me”), pairing the soft vocals with a slow piano lead melody to bring out the heavy emotion behind the song. In contrast, ‘I Left You’ still portrays the tale of a breakup, but has a more upbeat melody which is a refreshing change for the centre point of the album.
However with every track conveying the same overall sombre tone, the album does get a little repetitive towards the end. ‘Brother’ is a change of pace with more echoing vocals and drum focused beat, although the sudden change doesn’t flow as well and the track itself seems a little too long. Perhaps this repetitiveness is why the album is only 10 tracks long. The lyrics are beautiful, however the album would have benefitted from lighter tracks to give it a fresh feel.