'You're Not A Ghost Anymore (Faith)' by Joseph Arthur

I recently reviewed for International Times Joseph Arthur's recent gig at West Hampstead Arts Club together with Melanie Gabriel and Gonzalo Carrera:

'Highlights from a stellar set included ‘No Weapon’, based on the freedom that is found through forgiveness – ‘faith is hard but the only solution in a world full of spiritual pollution’; ‘Nobody’s War’ – ‘Nobody here wants your war’ and ‘More money, more death, more greed, makes the children bleed’; as well as the raucous singing of a Ho’oponopono mantra together with the crowd during the encore – ‘I love you, I’m sorry, Please forgive me, And thank you’.'

Today Arthur's latest album You're Not A Ghost Anymore (Faith), which he has been promoting through his latest tour, was released. The album is the latest in a stream of recent releases on secular labels that reference religion and engage with Christianity in particular. These include: Wild God by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Lux by Rosalía, Days of Ash and Easter Lily by U2, Holy Island by Sister Ray Davies, Sad and Beautiful World by Mavis Staples, Hallelujah! Don’t Let The Devil Fool Ya by Robert Finley, Troubled Horses by Martyn Joseph and the reissue of Fire Of God’s Love by Sister Irene O’Connor.

Paul Cashmere writes that:

'Arthur has announced You’re Not A Ghost Anymore, a sweeping new body of work conceived as a single narrative and revealed in three connected album movements titled Faith, Heart, and Fight. The first instalment, You’re Not A Ghost Anymore: Faith, will be released on Friday, April 2 via Arthur’s own Lonely Astronaut Records, marking his first new solo project since 2019’s Come Back World.

Rather than a conventional album cycle, Arthur has structured the project as a long-form arc written across six years, shaped by personal collapse, recovery and creative renewal. Each chapter reflects a state of being rather than a musical category, with Faith establishing the emotional and spiritual foundation of the wider work.

The album opens with I Wanna Know You, a stark and searching song that sets the tone for what follows. The track is accompanied by an official music video filmed by Arthur himself, captured in a single continuous take while travelling through Europe. The unplanned footage, centred around an image of Jesus Christ mounted on the back of a truck, became a visual extension of the song’s themes of attention, presence and chance encounter.

Arthur’s writing on Faith leans into spiritual inquiry without offering easy conclusions. Across twelve tracks including Hey Satan, Bear Your Own Cross, Thank You Is My Mantra and In The Shadow Of The Cross, he examines belief, doubt, endurance and responsibility with the unfiltered directness that has defined his career since the late 1990s.'

Arthur says:

'The 36-song album I’m releasing over the course of this year, You’re Not a Ghost Anymore, unfolds in three sections:
Faith.
Heart.
Fight.
I could have begun anywhere.
But for me the story starts with faith.
When you’re at the bottom of life, when things feel uncertain, faith is often the only thing left. Not as an ideology. Just as a quiet decision to keep going.
Heart and fight came after that.
This is a reflection on why I chose to begin there.
Where you stumble, there lies your treasure.'

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Joseph Arthur - Hey Satan.