Ben Arthur
Edible Darling
(Bardic)
First Appeared at The Music Box, May 2004, Volume 11, #5
Written by John Metzger
There’s little doubt that Ben Arthur has a knack for crafting infectious
tunes, but for all his candy-coated melodies, there’s little substance lurking
beneath the surface. His sophomore effort Edible Darling goes down easy,
but it doesn’t satisfy nearly as well as one might expect. The problem is that
Arthur seems to take a populist approach to songwriting, which is never a good
idea if one truly wishes to be considered an artist. Although he does
occasionally strike gold, his general tendency is to utilize every cliched lyric
and hook at his disposal, and he never even attempts to take a risk at being
anything more than a mainstream success. His jingly, jangly grooves are
innocuous enough, frequently recalling the alt-rock luster of hits by Barenaked
Ladies, Pete Yorn, and Smash Mouth, but while there certainly are worse avenues
to traverse, there are far better ones too, especially for someone as talented
as Arthur appears to be. 
Edible Darling is available
from Barnes & Noble. To order, Click Here!
Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 2004 The Music Box