Adam Arcuragi & The Lupine Chorale Society

The best song of many best songs on the record, "We Steal People's Medicine (Don't We?)," is a ballad that Arcuragi notes deals with these conflicts and their nexuses. It's a calm and even-handed look at the waywardness that we're cooked to believe in as the smarter man's way of operation, but Arcuragi plays the devil's advocate to great persuasion and leaves us with a resounding and stinging Pinch that doesn't fade away so quickly. He sings, "The old man stays up playing and singing/To prepare us for darkness outside… If it's true and hell has better music, then can the devil really be all that bad?...Do you think that the Lord will be sore with our smilin' if he knows how and especially why?" It hurts us to hear, as a suggestion that we're striving for the wrong things, coming from someone who sounds as if he's lined his soul with all of the living parts that it needs, all of the small glories that will sustain it through all kinds of winds and downpours. - Daytrotter.com

Gleaning Charm from Old Souls - Daytrotter.com

Four years ago, I dug Adam Arcuragi's CD out a stack of many and was struck by his voice: powerful, but without the unnecessary melodrama that encumbers so many talented singers.

Then there was the poetry. All you have to do is read the title to the first Arcuragi song we put on All Songs Considered, titled "1981 (Or Waving at You As We Part at Light Speed Will Look Like I'm Standing Still)." His recent recording, I Am Become Joy, was just as appropriately titled; an uplifting record whose sorrow is shaken by the sound of old friends shouting at the rafters. (Only, unlike most of my friends, they can sing.)

When Arcuragi came to play at my desk, most of the folks here at NPR hadn't heard him. After hearing the three songs he played, many walked away amazed. I hope you do, too.
- NPR

Three live Take-Away shows - La Blogotheque/Take-Away shows

Ohne Regener-Empfehlung, aber auf ähnlichem Terrain schlägt sich derweil Adam Arcuragi überaus beachtlich. Folkiger und melodramatischer als Horwath, erinnert ein gospelinformierter Hymnus wie "She Comes To Me" ein bisschen an die vorzüglichen Bowerbirds, evoziert aber auch Nick Drake. Der Rest ist ein einziges Schwelgen und Sehnen. Ob sie wirklich kommt? - Rolling Stone, Germany

Adam Arcuragi makes music like some folks host parties. Equal parts revival tent and corner pub, his sophomore LP I Am Become Joy (out now) sounds like get-together where everyone feels at home—in the room and in their own skin—and seamlessly connected. Rife with rowdy choruses, banjos, horns and handclaps, the record invites anyone listening to the party, too, calling us in to have a beer and sing along with a collective of folks called humankind, spanning time and distance. A day after the record’s Sept. 8 release, the Atlanta-born, Philly-bred songwriter caught a train from his new home in New York’s West Village to return to the City of Brotherly Love. After a walk around downtown, Arcuragi talked to Paste about how the record was made, why museums should be open all night and why a guy who gets such a kick out of life categorizes his own music as “death gospel"..... - Paste Magazine

The debut full-length from Philadelphia singer/songwriter Adam Arcuragi is the sonic cousin to the melancholic folk of Nick Drake and current sepia-tinged fellow travelers like Mark Kozelek, Damien Jurado, acoustic Chris Mills, and Dolorean. Like the latter's debut, Not Exotic, it's predominantly gentle, minor key acoustics and literate narratives that veil a vaguely religious undertow. On Arcuragi's softer cuts, he employs a whisper uncannily like Kozelek's; when the songs increase tempo and the finger-picking turns to hearty strumming, Arcuragi's voice develops an adenoidal pinch much like early Jurado. What often distinguish these songs are the accents: disc opener "All the Bells" features sumptuous vibraphone chimes from Michael Spinka; lap steel from Ryan McClaughlin and graceful cello from Eve Miller (Rachel's) frame the country shuffle "Delicate"; and Wurlitzer (Charlie Hall, Windsor for the Derby) highlights "Little Yellow Boat." Elsewhere, singing saw and E-Bowed guitars flesh out the compositions. But Arcuragi's songs are strong enough to stand on their own merits; over half of them surpass five minutes, yet none feel too long. - Allmusic.com

The album cover declares "The Lupine Chorale Society under the direction of Adam Arcuragi accompanying himself on guitar with voice present to you with song and singing I am Become Joy." That willfully anachronistic (and ungrammatical) description perfectly sets up the mood of the album: nostalgic, wistful, and painstakingly produced. I Am Become Joy, the second album by singer/songwriter/playwright/poet Adam Arcuragi, follows three years after his untitled debut. Arcuragi is a Southerner by way of Pennsylvania, and his Southern twang is still evident in his voice, the songs he writes, and the instrumentation he uses.
The Lupine Chorale Society in the title is a brotherhood of like-minded musicians from all over the country that Adam has played and recorded with. Most of the songs were recorded live, and the tracks feel warm and organic because of it. There is a tendency in singer-songwriters towards isolation and self-indulgence, and the camaraderie between Adam and his fellow musicians is the secret ingredient of the album. Or one of the secret ingredients: the production is the star here, outshining even Adam himself. All of the songs are lovingly constructed and recorded, and the resulting sound is intimate and timeless.
The album opens with "She Comes to Me," which mixes folk, gospel, and country. It is lushly produced, with pedal steel, trumpets, and acoustic guitars mixing with Arcuragi's tender and lightly drawled voice and a chorus of background singers. There is a sadness and joy to the song, reinforced by the lyrics. The strongest tracks on I Am Become Joy follow the template of "She Comes To Me," mixing a variety of voices, instruments, and styles. The combination of the production, songwriting, and Arcuragi's voice are reminiscent of Andrew Bird, another singer/songwriter who has one foot in the past and one in the present day.


Read more: http://blogcritics.org/music/article/music-review-adam-arcuragi-i-am/#ixzz10mFqINCE - Blogcritics.com

A Philadelphia singer-songwriter who writes some truly amazing Dylanesque folk-rock songs. So far he has released two albums: a self-titled debut, and last year's five-song EP, Soldiers for Feet. You can find a Splice interview with Adam Arcuragi here. - Splice Music

It will come as no surprise to anyone familiar with once-and-always Philadelphian Adam Arcuragi that now that he's living in New York, the hyper-associative singer/songwriter is thinking about sponges.

"You cannot turn around without finding something new, something old, something in transition," says Arcuragi, 30, speaking excitedly but measuredly on his cell phone about his new environs. "It's so crazy. And it's like there's a lot of scientists who are working on the idea of a superorganism. They look at sponges and they realize that sponges are actually like colonies of autonomous organisms that all live and work together. It's hit that critical mass point of there being enough individual humans that now the humans are acting as superorganisms. It's fascinating to watch it go." - Philadelphia City Paper

Philadelphia folk troubadour Adam Arcuragi defines the 21st century mentality in his progressive approach to life, death, and songwriting, but he also hearkens some of the great minds of the past several centuries in his fully realized artistic philosophy. His music is deliberate and naturally constructed, and his answers below reflect a highly cognizant and unique way of responding to the world. Expect to hear more from this rising star in the coming months. - Crawdaddy.com

In addition to his work as a poet and playwright, Philadelphia's Adam Arcuragi crafts raucous Americana, the kind that was once called "alternative country" before that phrase become associated with a gnarly fetishization of backwoods authenticity. But with its from-the-gut wails, religious-themed songs and utter lack of detachment, his new album I Am Become Joy feels like the real deal, despite its somewhat anachronistic sounds. The work is full of lap steel, pedal steel, banjo and even a singing saw. Its down-south-style sing-alongs have a great, late-summer flavor, conjuring up images of barnyard parties and moonlight soirees.

The album's closer, "Bottom of the River," has already become one of Arcuragi's most beloved live tracks, and it's easy to hear why. With a feel that's both tragic and uplifting, it's an ode to embracing your misfortune and letting it wash over you. Lamenting that he's fallen "in love with something invisible," Arcuragi's protagonist decides to plop himself down atop the rocks of a running stream and commiserate with the fishes. There, he goes about "lift[ing] a song into the night so that the moon don't have to die." It's not exactly clear whether this delights or wearies him, but in the end, his dip seems to have a cleansing effect, functioning as a sort of self-administered baptism.
- NPR