Che Arthur Returns With "No Harbor" And New Album

News of the new For That Which Now Lies Fallow, which will be released April 26, 2024, just made its way down the pipeline. This is punk stalwart Che Arthur’s fourth solo album and his first since 2010’s Like Revenge. This is a return to form for the Pink Avalanche guitarist/singer/songwriter after releasing electronic projects such as Professor Downfall and Ha Subliminal. While likely to interest fans of Husker Du, Unwound, Dinosaur Jr, and Jawbox, Fallow sees Arthur return to the cathartic, darkly melodic post-hardcore territory of his work in Pink Avalanche, his previous solo albums and the regarded early 2000s Chicago quartet Atombombpocketknife.

In Arthur’s own words, “I had too much madness going on in my life and in my head. The guitar and my voice are the most direct means I have to deal with those demons. So when I say I made this record in an attempt to stay alive, I am not exaggerating.” The album deals with heavy subject matter – among them, the emotional difficulties Arthur encountered during his recovery from cancer treatment. The fears and sense of non-belonging that come with aging in a music community that tends to celebrate newer, younger artists. Feelings of isolation related to aging as a gay African-American man. Looming career burnout – Arthur is a busy touring sound engineer for Silversun Pickups, Bob Mould, Battles, Pelican, and more. He also works as a house sound engineer in several Chicago venues when not on tour. “I’d been struggling with some of these issues already. Then some things happened in my life that lit the fuse, and I started burning down. Big time. I spiraled for a year and a half. I pretended I was fine in public as best I could, but at home by myself, it was a very bad time.”

Amid this internal chaos, Arthur was asked to play a few solo acoustic shows in Chicago back in 2022 and 2023. He’d stepped away from playing in that format years prior. “I used to do it a lot – I toured around the US by myself for years on those first solo records I did, just me and some guitars in a car. That’s a tough path after a while if you’re not a well-known artist. A lot of soul-crushing, lonely experiences on that path. Lot of questioning about one’s worth. Eventually, I felt emotionally exhausted and I put solo stuff away, I thought maybe forever. Then those solo shows in mid-’23 gave me a feeling I hadn’t had in years – the feeling of an emotional weight having lifted a bit. The feeling of maybe having purged a bit of darkness. That told me that I needed to have this outlet back in my life. But I felt I needed new songs, so I picked up the guitar and a lot came out very quickly.”

Arthur got to work writing in the fall of 2023. As ten songs took shape, he called upon Pink Avalanche
drummer/decades-long collaborator Adam Reach (also of The Poison Arrows) and they entered the
studio in the final days of 2023. Arthur then completed much of the album at home alone and mixed it there. He’s set up a few solo shows in anticipation of the release (see below), as well as sharing “No Harbor,” the first single off Fallow.