ARKELLS – Laundry Pile (2023 Universal)
Arkells didn’t set out to make a record. They’d been pretty prolific, with Campfire Chords, Blink Once, and Blink Twice coming out in rapid succession during the pandemic. As they sat down to rehearse some acoustic arrangements of the Blink material, they found themselves jamming on new ideas. Singer Max Kerman had already been writing demos, which the band jumped on. The result is a softer, more contemplative album without the Arkells usual bombastic rally cries. 10 songs, 36 minutes.
Max compared this album to a journal that “documents some of the messy parts that end up teaching you a lot: love, regret, desire, shame, and the longing to get it right.” With that in mind, let’s have a listen.
A simple acoustic number, “Life Is” is a beautiful, quiet and contemplative number. The sweet and subtle backing vocals recall the greatest folk albums of Canadian tradition. “Life is short sometimes,” sings Kerman. “You make mistakes along the way, and I love you ’til my dying day.” A classic to be, “Life Is” might be one of the prettiest songs I’ve ever heard.
The single “Skin” is a fuller arrangement, with piano, bass and drums. While it starts fairly ordinarily, the chorus really kicks. “I thought I knew, I thought I knew what I wanted when I started,” sings Max, while pianist Anthony Carone punctuates his words magnificently. A soft synth kicks in with the bass and drums, and the song becomes softly electric. Mike DeAngelis lays down one of his best, most emotive guitar solos while drummer Tim Oxford plays with expert subtlety. This is the brightest, most upbeat song on the album, and the only one of its kind.
The title track “Laundry Pile” relies of a soft piano backing, as Max muses on spending time with his true love. “It’s OK if you’re not always at your best.” Most poignantly, “I already love the parts that you don’t like in yourself.” It reads like a personal letter. The minimal accompaniment is perfect. “Wash Away” also has minimal accompaniment, with percussion and light drums. “I’m still in love with you,” proclaims Max. “I’m not ready to let go.”
“Your Name” features organ, and dreamy keyboards. “My whole world is inside your name,” declares Kerman. Light strumming guitars and laid-back drums make for the perfect arrangement. At the end of the song you can hear someone say “I’ll be back in an hour,” right before you’d flip the LP side.
“Beginner’s Mind” has a sad melody, with dark piano accompaniment. When a strange keyboard sound kicks in, Marillion comes to mind. The progressive rock band from Aylesbury often do songs like this, and the keyboards do add a progressive edge to this dusky pop song. It has a vibe like a cold rainy day, especially when the full band comes in. Wait for the trumpets! Though this song is not inviting at first, by second or third listen it starts to hook you in.
The music picks up on “Shot In the Dark” (not the Ozzy song!), which is just a nice summery rock song for the countryside. Electric guitars, punchy drums, thumping bass by Nick Dika…but it’s not a loud song. It sounds like you’re in the back of someone’s pickup truck, driving up a long dirt road on a bright, blue summer morning. This is followed by the twangy “Time”, and that’s probably not a coincidence. There’s also some serious soul/blues roots on “Time”. What is wild is that sometimes, Anthony Carone’s keyboards sound like they’re ripped from some old 1940s record.
“Tango Waltz” features strings to create a haunting atmosphere. You’re fooled into thinking it’s an instrumental, but after more than half the song expires, finally Max comes in. The words are somewhat rapid-fire, and this song comes across as more of an atmospheric interlude before the closer “Quiet Love”. Tim Oxford ticks away in the back, while Max and the band create a delicate acoustic tapestry of music to wrap the words in. “Is it too late? Can you look at me like you used to?” There’s a certain epic quality to this album closer, though not in a traditional sense. It’s certainly one of the best tracks of the ten.
At the start of this review, Max was quoted as saying that this album “documents some of the messy parts that end up teaching you a lot: love, regret, desire, shame, and the longing to get it right.” You can certainly hear that, and see it in the words. There are no anthems here about politics, class, societal ills, or finance. There are no soundtracks to going out to the club and meeting a girl. Laundry Pile is a very different album for the Arkells. Yet it somehow sounds like them and only them, and fits right in with everything else in their catalogue. The shout-along anthems will return one day, but this album is unique. It deserves intense listening over this coming winter.
4.5/5 stars