Arthur Yoria
Something Must Be Wrong EP
12 Records

Those who wondered if Yoria had blown the proverbial wad with his stellar 2003 release, I’ll Be Here Awake — which is still getting airplay and garnering the musician well-deserved praise — will be glad to note that the musician is back with a handful of new songs. We needn’t have worried about the absence of new material — if anything, Yoria’s songwriting has gotten better since his last album. The new three-song EP, Something Must Be Wrong, continues Yoria’s jaded and lovelorn outlook, yet like most of his work, the songs still bristle with hints of promise. On “Something Must Be Wrong,” Yoria wryly observes, “Nothing here left to fear except the fear that this might come to an end…This can’t be this easy…Something must be wrong.”

“Only Me” sounds similar to I’ll Be Here Awake‘s best moments, with a steady beat and Yoria’s trademark spoken-word lyrics and layered vocals. It’s arguably catchier than anything he’s done before and contains some of the musician’s most insightful lyrics: “I don’t know if I should feel ashamed / I don’t if anyone’s to blame / but I know I don’t feel okay / I can’t see and I can’t walk straight / I can’t tell myself that this will go away, but today I turned around to look and it was me…”

“Goodbye Marisa”‘s strong, addictive melodies and choppy riffs display Yoria’s range, and is unlike anything he has attempted in the past. The song is at times sexy, other times poppy, and yet is probably his most rocking song to date. Yoria smartly utilizes some of Houston’s best working musicians on Something Must Be Wrong, including Drop Trio’s Ian Varley on keyboards, Houston Press Music Award’s best drummer of 2005 Paul “The Falcon” Valdez (of Tody Castillo’s band), and his usual line-up of bassist Mike Poulos, drummer Matt Taylor, and guitarist Bill Royall. The music is flawless and the songs leave listeners wanting more.

“Something Must Be Wrong” has already cracked the Top 10 on the independent music specialty charts, which goes to show that Yoria still knows how to write a hit. Hopefully, the rest of the world will soon take notice.

Yoria plays a CD release show this Saturday night (2.25.06) at The Proletariat with Tody Castillo and Millicent Friendly. Rumor has it Castillo plays at 11 and Yoria goes onstage at midnight.

Discover more about Arthur Yoria’s music at his website.

Also this Saturday night (2.25.06) is the Southern Backtones’ CD release show at Rudyard’s. They share the stage with Flowers to Hide and Slovak Republic. The Backtones go on stage around 10:30. Slovak Republic starts the show around 9. F2H plays at midnight.

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