Chris Arthur’s debut album began without an album in mind. In the aftermath of a relationship ending, songwriting became an instinctive means of navigating heartbreak, with ideas arriving quickly and naturally. Arthur began recording voice memos and quietly sending them to close friends, unsure whether the material would ever become anything beyond a private form of release. Gradually, those fragments began to suggest a larger story.
That story takes shape on Underneath The Scar, arriving August 6, 2026. Produced, recorded and mixed by Eric Sanderson, co-founder and multi-instrumentalist of Augustines, the ten-track collection traces a path through loss, reflection and healing. Rather than treating heartbreak as a single emotional moment, Arthur allows the songs to document its shifting perspective, from immediate pain toward the possibility of renewal.
Sanderson’s involvement carries particular resonance. The pair have been friends for more than 25 years, with their professional relationship stretching back to Arthur’s work as Tour Manager for Sanderson’s former band Pela. Arthur later continued alongside Augustines in various capacities throughout much of the band’s rise between 2011 and 2016. He also appeared in Todd Howe’s award-winning documentary Rise: The Story of Augustines, further connecting his story to the band’s remarkable journey.
For Arthur, Sanderson’s greatest contribution may have been creating an environment where vulnerability felt possible. “Eric believed in what I was doing before I fully believed in myself,” he explains, describing a period marked by self-doubt and imposter syndrome. The resulting record retains the sequence in which its songs were written, beginning with “All That Glitters Isn’t Gold” and allowing the listener to experience the emotional progression without interruption or retrospective reshaping.
Acoustic-driven and deliberately organic, Underneath The Scar is rooted in the enduring possibilities of the album format. At a time when songs are increasingly consumed in fragments, Arthur has created a record that asks to be heard as a complete journey. Originally from Buffalo and now based in Southern California, he transforms a deeply personal rupture into something more open, offering listeners the chance to locate their own stories within the spaces between his songs.
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