rock and roll

REVIEW: Arkells – Blink Once (2021)

“Blink Once is about resilience. It’s about grieving with loss and fall outs and finding your way back. The making of the album began before the pandemic, but the material seems to hit harder after everything we’ve been through over the past 18 months. These songs are about finding comfort in your family, community and music.” – Arkells

 

ARKELLS – Blink Once (2021 Universal)

Blink Once is the album on which you can definitively say the Arkells transitioned from a rock band to a pop band.  Historically this is the kind of move that earned my wrath, but I’m a lot more chill about it now.  Opening your ears to new kinds of music can’t hurt you, and you may in fact find that you like what your eardrums are beating into you.  When you already love the singer, the drummer, and the other musicians, it’s a lot easier to make that leap.

And Max Kerman is one hell of a singer.

Rather than review in track order, I thought I’d start with what I think is the best song and the clear highlight of Blink Once.  The single “All Roads” is stunning.  Just have a look at its music video, shot by drone over a local landmark:  the Devil’s Punchbowl in Hamilton Ontario.  The band members all make appearances as the drone flies overhead and then zooms down for their closeups.  It’s a remarkable video fitting a very special song.  (I forgive Max Kerman for being in his shorts-and-gym-socks phase.)

You couldn’t name a price,
You couldn’t buy me off,
Don’t need to read my mind,
There’s only one thing that I want,
All roads will lead me to back you.

Don’t let the opening bloops and blips of programmed music fool you.  Once the guitars kick in, the song takes off just like the drone in the video.  Soaring through the clouds on muscular wings of melody, “All Roads” is nothing short of a masterpiece.  “All Roads” sounds like a #1 pop hit from 1988, with the production values of today.  Those “huh!” backing vocals are absolutely from the 80s.  It’s cinematic, as if it came from one of the great romance movies of the decade.   This song is huge and impossible to forget.

Incidentally, I like the production on the lead vocals.  It’s as if you can hear the room that Max is singing in, instead of being uber-bright and clean.

Fortunately, the album is stacked with memorable material.  The opener “Liberation” boasts catchy verses over programmed beats and synths, but then breaks into a chorus that sounds Caribbean in original.  After this, a massive drum beat maintains a tenuous link with rock music.

One of the big singles was “You Can Get It” with American Doc-boot-stompin’ singer and rapper K.Flay (Kristine Flaherty).  She has an interesting breathy style, but this is the song that requires the biggest listener adjustment.  The horn section helps, as does the entertaining “Wheel of Fortune” music video.  Really, it’s all about the horn section.  Live, I’m sure that “I don’t give a fuck, tell me what you want, you can get it!” part is fun to sing along to.  On album, it’s all the horns!

One of my complaints about the prior album Rally Cry was that didn’t have any truly sad tear jerkers, emotional songs that just make you break down.  Blink Once returns to that territory with “Strong”.  This is a song I can relate to — staying strong for members of your family.  “Here’s the rules:  stay strong for me, and I’ll stay strong for you.”  Most poignantly, as I remember the summer of 2018 (that summer that never was):  “Summer is here but it’s sleeping away, why would we want to miss a good day?”  Chills, tears, you name it:  they’re all here.

A short acoustic interlude of “Liberation” called “Little Moments” makes you wish for a full-on acoustic version.  This transitions to a necessary party song called “One Thing I Know”.  A good time piano bopper with samples and loops, like many Arkells songs, the chorus is as big as the sky is wide.  A more beat-driven song called “Truce” follows, with slinky horns again delivering the hooks.  The lyrics are as relatable as always:  “We both say that we fucked up, can we call a truce?”

One of the more interesting songs is “Nobody Gets Me Like You Do”, which seems to relate lyrically to other songs.  The line “I’ll follow you down any road” recalls “All roads will lead be back to you”.  The words “But you’d tell me straight if I fucked up,” bring us back to the previous song.  Most importantly, it’s another melodic summer champion, gliding on mighty wings of pop music.  The saxophone solo is right out of 1985.  You can almost visualise the sunglasses, colourful tee-shirts under white suits, and deck shoes (no socks).  Another album highlight.

“Swing Swing Swing” is one of the only album mis-steps.  It starts with what sounds like studio outtake chatter:  “OK I wanna try to do one of these kinds of songs where people are like, happy and dancing, but everyone’s like really fuckin’ sad when they listen to the lyrics.”  That they accomplished, with the line “a long winter learning how to be alone again” giving you an idea.  Musically it’s another horn-driven R&B style pop song, but not one of their best.  The awkward reference to the Beatles’ “Let It Be” seems forced in an attempt to seem cool.

Fortunately, “No Regrets” puts the album back on track.  A dance beat is accompanied by synth and, yes indeed, more unforgettable Arkells melodies.  The chorus is huge, and just enough to remind you that this album has some great pop songs on it.  Brilliant disco-like strings add to the whole and bring it up to another level.

“Years In the Making” was previously heard on 2020’s Campfire Chords, the acoustic “lockdown” album.  Here is it fully dressed with horns and programming.  The acoustic version might the superior one for purists but there is little wrong with the Blink Once recording.  The choice is yours.

Another brief interlude called “What the Feeling Was Like” talks of hardships, but the closing song “Arm In Arm” is all about overcoming them.  “Not gonna lie I’ve been fucked up.  Not gonna lie it’s been a long year,” sings Max.  And indeed, 2020 was a little fucked up, and it was a numbingly long year.  The music is bright, with those necessary “woah-oh-oh” Arkells backing vocals.  It feels like triumph.

That’s not the actual closer:  An outro sample of a string section from “Reckoning” alludes to the next album, when Max says “Blink Twice…”  Truly, it’s a two-album set, but we’ll get there next time.

If you’re into iTunes, check out a completely different version of “All Roads” called the “Night Drive” version.  They even made a music video for it.  It’s not a remix, but a completely different recording.  A completely different mood.  It doesn’t have the impact of the original, but it is a very cool supplemental.

Blink Once seems split between three directions:  Extremely upbeat happy pop songs, kinda corny and semi-successful R&B forays, and a really sad ballad.  At times it feels like these directions don’t mesh.  It was a weird time.  We needed upbeat music like this at that time.  We were all dealing with a lot of shit.  This is an album to pick you up on a bad day.  Mostly, anyway.

4/5 stars

 

ARKELLS

  1. Jackson Square (2008)
  2. Michigan Left (2011)
  3. High Noon (2014)
  4. Morning Report (2017)
  5. Rally Cry (2018)
  6. Campfire Chords (2020)
  7. Blink Once (2021)
  8. Blink Twice (2022)
  9. Laundry Pile (2023)

…and more to come

REVIEW: Elf – Carolina County Ball (1974)

ELF – Carolina County Ball (1974 Line Records)

Before the Rainbow there was Elf.  It was basically the same band – Ronnie James Dio on lead vocals, Mickey Lee Soule on keys, Gary Driscoll on drums, and Craig Gruber on bass.  The one and only difference was Steve Edwards on guitar, who would have no place when Richie Blackmore came knocking a year later.  Their second album, Carolina County Ball, was produced by Deep Purple’s Roger Glover.  It’s fair to say that Dio hadn’t found his niche yet.  With Mickey Lee Soule, Ronnie co-wrote every song, but was seeking a bouncier Guess Who direction at this point in time.

It sounds like Mardi Gras on the opening title track, with clarinets, trombones and trumpets accompanying the band on this “boogie-woogie Friday night”.  Soule shines, ticking the keys with delicate intent.  Heavy metal, this is not not!  Not even close.  There’s a guitar solo but it’s a secondary feature.  Only at the end does the song pick up the pace.  It’s actually a great tune, but anyone expecting dungeons and dragons had better head back to their gamesmaster for a new dice roll.  Expect boogie.

“L.A. 59” opens like an old bar room, with a piano taking up all the space.  The opening figure sounds like it’s emulating a train, which is probably a good guess.  “Get me back to L.A., 59!” sings Ronnie, sounding a bit more like the mighty mite he would become.  “Hello, hello sunshine!”  Upbeat, with the guitar taking up more of the song this time.  A great upbeat tune to start your day.

A little bit of a funky swing emerges on “Ain’t It All Amusing”, demonstrating the talents of the rhythm section in particular.  Driscoll was no slouch and Gruber had no issue filling the bottom end with interesting vibes.  This fun song really is about rhythm with a pinch of funk.  It sounds a lot like Deep Purple Mk I, especially with the long percussion break that ends it.

“Happy”, which is ironically anything but, is a bit filler-ish.  It’s Elf playing in a smokey nightclub and it’s all a bit repetitive.  “Annie New Orleans” picks it up, with another Elf piano boogie-woogie.  Whitesnake have also done songs of this nature in their early days.  Then the awkwardly titled “Rocking Chair Rock ‘N’ Roll Blues”, which is a ballad more or less.  It boasts a nice guitar solo and a laid back sound, but it’s going to have some reaching for the skip button.  They shouldn’t, because three minutes in, a new riff arrives and transforms the song into another rockin’ boogie-woogie.  Listen for some of Driscoll’s fun cowbell work on the back end too.

The one title that grabs everyone’s eye is “Rainbow”.  Don’t get too excited.  It doesn’t sound anything like Blackmore’s Rainbow; more like a a third rate tribute to The Band.  The boogie-woogie is starting to wear a little thin, and same-samey now.  “Do the Same Thing” is more like it.  It sounds like a prototype to Rainbow’s “If You Don’t Like Rock ‘N’ Roll”.  This allows the players to shine a bit more.

The album goes out on a cringey ballad called “Blanche”, with Dio singing about “Rainy days, rainy days” in a voice quite unlike the power he would later master.  This is little more than a silly album outro; nothing to be taken seriously.

Every album and every band will have its defenders, but Elf was the least of Dio’s four main bands over the decades (counting Black Sabbath and Heaven and Hell as one band).  Carolina County Ball lacks focus, and Glover doesn’t provide any punch in the stale production.  The album rests on the songs and performances alone.  Fortunately the band could play, though they seemed uncertain about who they wanted to be.

3/5 stars

 

REVIEW: Arkells – “The Last Christmas (We Ever Spend Apart)” / “Pub Crawl” (2021 iTunes single)

ARKELLS – “The Last Christmas (We Ever Spend Apart)” / “Pub Crawl” (2021 single)

I usually prefer an original Christmas song to a traditional one.  We’ve all heard those standards a million times.  How about something new?  For Christmas of ’21, the Arkells put out a single with two originals:  “The Last Christmas (We Ever Spend Apart)” and fan favourite “Pub Crawl” (from 2020).

The Christmas tune doesn’t particular sound like a Christmas tune.  It sounds like an Arkells song.  The synth strings and Beatles-y guitar solo dominate the music.  It’s upbeat with singalong qualities, but the lyrics kind of nail the Christmas vibe of the last few years.  Reflecting on the pandemic and the holidays we didn’t spend together:  “Last Christmas, I didn’t get to hug you, last Christmas, it almost broke my heart.”  I really like this verse:  “Are we Catholic, are we Protestant? Jewish somewhere down the line? Got a cousin who’s Republican, I promise I won’t pick a fight.”  Once again, the Arkells tap into those real feelings.  It’s a good song, though it probably won’t usurp anything from your favourite seasonal playlist.

“Pub Crawl” sounds a lot more Christmas-y though the lyrics are only vaguely so.   “Maria’s dancin’ around, and she’s singing Mariah,” is a reference to Mariah Carey’s ever-popular Christmas album.  Instead of 12 days of Christmas, they have 12 pubs to crawl through.  It starts as a piano ballad, and then kicks up into a rocker complete with guitar solo and handclaps.  Max even references himself in the lyrics by name:  “And Max is about to cry (I’m about to cry)”.

Don’t cry, Max!  Merry Christmas, Arkells!

3.5/5 stars

REVIEW: Arkells – Campfire Chords (2020)

ARKELLS – Campfire Chords (2020)

March, 2020:  the world came to a sudden halt as the Covid-19 pandemic spread from city to city, nation to nation.  We isolated in our homes and offices to keep our loved ones safe, and we waited it out.  For bands, everything stopped.  Gigs were cancelled, and recordings had to be done remotely from home.  On the bright side, this resulted in some brilliant music from legacy bands.  For the Arkells, it meant stopping all work on the next studio album (Blink Once) and separating for four months.  At the encouragement of bassist Nick Dika, the band got down to their singer-songwriter basics with a series of stripped-down versions of the “greatest hits” (so to speak).  Keyboardist Anthony Carone assembled the individual pieces into something cohesive, and Campfire Chords was born!  The title refers to the “campfire test”:  if a song sounds good done acoustically around a campfire, then it’s a good song.  Bon Jovi have a similar philosophy.

Campfire Chords opens with a surprisingly somber “Knockin’ At Your Door”, which was more of an anthem in its single release.  Souful backing vocals and pedal steel guitar gives it an entirely new feel.  Although everything about the melody is the same, it feels like a new song.

Following this is a brand new song:  “Quitting You”.  This lovely acoustic country ballad is just a beautiful love song.  Fiddles and acoustic guitars ring clean, while tambourines jangle in the background.  “I thought of maybe quittin’…but there’s no quittin’ you.”   Because it’s the Arkells, there are some cool “woah-oh-oh” singalongs too, because what’s a campfire without a singalong?  An Arkells classic.

A second new song, “Years in the Making” opens with harmonica and a strong Max Kerman melody.  This track later appeared on Blink Once in a vastly different arrangement.  A true Arkells anthem, you can hear it on this stripped down version.  It’s all about the melody, and then the hit of the chorus.  The piano break in the middle is really nice.

One of their earliest hits, “Whistleblower”, is slowed down and intensified with soulful backing vocals and steel guitars.  This one simmers, compared to the manic original.  It has a different kind of intensity, but the tension is there.  Another early hit, “Michigan Left” from the same album comes across really well acoustically.  The “woah-oh!” chorus is intact, and though it’s slower, it’s just as uplifting.  An even earlier song, from their debut album Jackson Square, called “I’m Not the Sun” comes next.  It’s gentle and floaty, though the lyrics are dark.  “So don’t let me be your guiding light, ’cause I’ll get you lost in the dark, I’m not the sun, there’s no guarantee, ’cause I burn out hard like a spark.”  Returning to the present day, “Don’t Be A Stranger” from the Rally Cry album is a song that might be an improvement.  Taking off the layers of polish, but leaving the string section in, it just breathes really smoothly now.  It’s the same song, but it hits differently.

An absolute highlight of this album is the new version of “Comes to Light” from their best album High Noon.  There’s a Bruce Cockburn feel to the guitars; quintessentially Canadian.  This one just cuts clean through.  The steel guitar is featured again, and the melodies shine.  “And with my headphones on, as I fall asleep, you’re my barricade from intruding dreams.”  While the original is hard to top, this one has magic to it that can’t be defined.  A masterclass in re-imagining.

Another Arkells classic, “A Little Rain (A Song For Pete)” takes us to church!  The Arkells go gospel, and do it like it’s second nature!  The rich choir-like backing vocals lend it an undeniable authenticity, but Max Kerman absolutely nails it too.  Not bad for a guy who, by the lyrics, “never tried religion”.  A little rain ain’t bringing him down goes the chorus, and that feeling is washed upon the listener like a baptism.  Pay attention to Nick Dika’s expressive and lyrical bass work.

Back to Rally Cry, the anthem “Eyes on the Prize” is stripped down to just acoustic and voice.  Though it was written pre-pandemic, one lyric rings way more true from the perspective of 2020:  “I think I’m done with the motherfuckin’ hiatus”!  The choir returns with Max on the chorus, and a harmony chimes in, but the music remains mostly simple acoustic guitars and soulful singing.

Revisiting the early years again, the light and airy “Book Club” is a delight.  The backing vocalists enhance its soulful feel, which was always there on the album version.  Following this is the slow and moving “And Then Some” from Morning Report.  One of the Arkells most beautiful love songs, it falls in the category of “personal favourite”.  The original has a real pulse to it, and this one is quite different in that way, but there’s also a newly acquired softness to it.  “Kiss Cam” from Michigan Left works well, given the lyrics.  “This campfire won’t last forever, the Hip have only wrote so many songs.”  Sadly true.  “We can’t stay up north for the summer, head back to the city, find a job.”  Can relate!  Speaking of personal favourites, Jen loves “My Heart’s Always Yours” in particular.  This acoustic version is transformed into much softer fare, like a dreamy morning anthem.

A steel guitar-laden version of the anthem “Hand Me Downs” is a back-end highlight.  Then “11:11”, already a brilliant single in its own right, is enhanced by the acoustic treatment.  This is another one that may in fact surpass the original.  At the end of the day, it all comes down to personal taste.  If you have more attachment to one version of another, that’ll colour what you prefer.

Finishing out the CD are the anthem “Relentless”, which always had a soul/R&B flavour.  Here it simmers intensely like hot pavement.  The closing track is the immortal “Leather Jacket” from High Noon, known to laymen as the “pay phone song”.  Steel guitars take us out to the country and that’s where the album goes as it rides off in the sunset like some kind of Canadian cowboy driving a dusty pickup truck through the gravel.  This is tagged by a lovely singalong (with horns) of the main hook, “You call me up from a pay phone, and I said who the fuck uses a pay phone!  There’s a crazy New Orleans outro like you’ve never heard, and that’s it!

These kind of “re-imagining” albums (if you will) can be so hit and miss.  I mentioned Bon Jovi earlier.  Remember that atrocity they did, This Left Feels Right?  It was so, so wrong.  The Arkells made no such mis-step here.  They key is…they didn’t have to take a left turn.  They just needed to turn to a different side of their sound, and focus in like that for a whole album.  The result is an acoustic album that has depth, variety, and in some cases, some versions that could top the originals.

You can’t get “Quitting You” anywhere else; to date this is its only release.

4.5/5 stars

REVIEW: Arkells – “Hand Me Downs” (2019 digital single) ft. Frank Turner

ARKELLS – “Hand Me Downs” (2019 iTunes)

“Oh-oh-oh!” sings Max Kerman in his most anthemic of choruses.  “When your head gets dizzy and you can’t get right.  Oh-oh-oh!  But you push on through, don’t be denied.”  This single from Rally Cry is an obvious highlight.

Kerman has always stood up for the little guy, in the face of banks and landlords.  “First of the month gets you stressed out, and moving trucks bring you right back.”   That’s what “Hand Me Downs” is.  You get the impression that these characters in these songs are amalgams of people that Max knew.  Most importantly, even more than the lyrics, is the power of the music.  “Hand Me Downs” is one of the Arkells most immediate, most catchy, most powerful songs to date.  And that’s saying a lot.  If there was a quintessential “trademark” Arkells song, “Hand Me Downs” would be among them.

This 2019 digital single came with three versions.  The album version, a live version, and a duet with English punk-folk rocker Frank Turner.  The Turner version is an entirely new recording, not just a remix.  A little more acoustic, a little less ornate, a little more live.   Very much up Frank’s alley.  It’s a little jarring to hear his accent on an Arkells song, but it’s a quick adjustment.  Turner grabs the verses by the balls and makes them his. He mixes well with Max on the chorus.  A brilliant version, and perhaps should have been released as a single in its own right.

The third and final version is an acoustic take from Clubhouse Austin (you can see a photo of Max on their website), and it’s perfectly recorded.  Very little noise, very clean.  Small rooms often make for the best live recordings.  Their vocals are absolutely perfect.  Arkells have proven time and again how talented they are in the studio, but it is live that counts the most.  “Hand Me Downs” live is flawless, yet not:  those vocal quirks that only come from a live performance, and only serve to sweeten the song, are everpresent.

“Hand Me Downs” makes for a brilliant three-song single.  It is still available for purchase.

5/5 stars

REVIEW: Arkells – Rally Cry (2018)

ARKELLS – Rally Cry (2018 Universal)

In a sense, Rally Cry is the last Arkells album that was made conventionally.  Campfire Chords, Blink Once, and Blink Twice were all recorded during the pandemic.  Laundry Pile was unplanned.  Rally Cry is the last one recorded during quote-unquote “normal times”.  It is 10 songs, 36 minutes, and clearly focused on pop rock with a soul/R&B influence.

This album is loaded with Arkells-style anthems, and leads off with one:  “Hand Me Downs”.  Their working-class social consciousness creeps into the lyrics, but most people won’t be paying attention when the chorus hits:  “Woah-oh-oh!” shouts singer Max Kerman in a fashion he almost could have patented.  “Ain’t no shame in some hand-me-downs!”  Yet the words are some that any can relate to.  “First of the month gets you stressed out, and moving trucks bring you right back.”  Musically, this is not that different from the prior album Morning Report, though perhaps more direct.

“American Screams” juxtaposes irresistible dance music with a shot at organized religion.  “You got your good book all wrong. You wanna do God’s work, it’s gonna be hard work.”  The big thick dance beat though!  The thing about Arkells music is that the it is so strong, the lyrics can be ignored if you so choose.  It’s way more rewarding to look into what they’re saying.  Unfortunately, this single is just three minutes long!

“Relentless” hearkens back to the bands’ youths.  Ambitiously, it contains a sample “Sixolele Babe” by South African artist Chicco.  The sample is not obvious at all, and somehow fits right in with this pop rock anthem.  How do they find these records?  Musically illiterate, the Arkells are not.

Moving on momentarily to a more straightforward Arkells sound, “Only For A Moment” is softer, and driven by beats and piano.  A good time party tune, but with interesting things going on rhythmically.  The lyrics are not too heavy, though the theme is letting your stresses and anxieties go, if only for a moment.  Then a U2-like guitar lick chimes forth, while Max sings a melody that Bono could have written (but didn’t).  It’s hard not to compare to the Irish quartet; even certain inflections in the voice.

Flip the side of the record, and you are back in the disco with the big single “People’s Champ”.  It’s political, but not specifically so.  It’s just about a candidate who’s no good:  “You’ve got no vision for the long run, you’ve got no sense of history.”  And then the chorus, “I’m looking for the people’s champ, and it ain’t you!”  And then in the same song:  “All my girls say woah-oh!  All my dudes go, woah-oh!”  So, it’s a rally cry, but it’s also a hell of a good time.  And why not?  Do you have to be dead serious musically when your lyrics are cutting slices out of the elite?  Why not let that bass drum hit!  Why not let that bass thump!  Tim Oxford and Nick Dika oblige on both counts, while a horn section blasts in your ears.

“Eyes on the Prize” could have been a single too.  This is more R&B than rock and roll, with loads of soulful backing vocals.  This one sounds autobiographical.  “I was repeating conversations with a chip on my shoulder, replaying the scene over and over.”  But there’s those upbeat horns and lush backing vocals!  Halfway through the song, Max takes us to church.  Just like a preacher, he goes off on his tangent.  “And the man behind the counter turned up the radio, one of those old AM/FM boomboxes, the kind with the cassettes.”  Yes, he really sings that, with the soul backing vocals making it seem like the most important scene you’ve ever heard.  Though at its heart, “Eyes on the Prize” is a hit-worth Arkells anthem, it’s chock full of diverse musical ideas, expertly executed.  Genius songwriting and performance.

If you’re looking for a perfect summer soundtrack, check out the bass-driven “Saturday Night”.  Again, Max’s lyrics are interesting and fun.  “You and me talking about conspiracy theories, you said ‘I don’t give a fuck about a man on the moon.'”  Again the punchy horns deliver the 80s, like a song right out of the summer of ’85.  It sure feels the way I remember.  The party comes to a stop on the darker “Company Man”, as the messages return to the forefront.  Yet the music goes full 1970s, with rolling drums, bangin’ piano and horns blasting.

Album closer “Don’t Be A Stranger” is catchy, with a big drum beat like an old Beatles song.  It ends the album on something of a somber note, but also a hopeful one.  There’s a quaint keyboard part that gives it that throwback vibe.

Rally Cry, though musically and lyrically ambitious, does lack the emotional impact of Morning Report and some of the other preceding albums.  It is a trade-off.  The Arkells are somehow both streamlined, and expanded.  The melodic construction of the songs are more emphasized than ever before, but beneath that lie layers of musical experimentation, mostly in the direction of Motown.  As such, we don’t get heart-rending slow-burners like “Passenger Seat” from the prior album.  The guitar riffs aren’t on the forefront.  A good album it is, though perhaps by being so accessible, it loses that challenge that sometimes keeps an album in your deck for decades.

4/5 stars

RE-REVIEW: Arkells – High Noon (2014 + iTunes bonus tracks)

ARKELLS – High Noon (2014 Universal/iTunes)

My 2016 album review of High Noon did not do it justice.  I hadn’t had the time yet to fall in love.  Now I have, and it’s time to look at the CD and iTunes versions of High Noon, and give it the praise it truly deserves.  A few months ago, I wrote up a “Just Listening To” post, but that too failed to really capture this special album.

Arkells, from Hamilton Ontario, are a special band.  In my original review, I touched one special aspect.  “A band can make or break based on the lead singer.  I really like the expressive and sincere singing style of Max Kerman.  He stands out from first listen.  It’s hard to say exactly what makes him stand out, but he certainly does.”

While I was right about Kerman (and I was right to use the word “expressive”) I hadn’t accounted for the rest of the band.  All brilliant in their own right.

On guitar:  Mike DeAngelis, who also provides a lot of vocals.  The guy knows how to write a catchy lick, and he has many on High Noon.

On bass:  Nick Dika, the guy who is always pushing them to do whatever other bands are not.  He also happens to write great basslines, and provides some serious bottom end on songs like “Come to Light”.

On drums:  Tim Oxford, who always plays for the song, but never plays it straight.  There’s always something interesting going on with the percussion parts.  I’ve heard him called Canada’s greatest drummer.

On keyboards:  The new kid, Anthony “Tony” Carone.  I can only speculate as to his impact on this album.  Original member Dan Griffin left the band to finish school and become a successful entertainment lawyer.  Pre-Carone Arkells are less pop, and have fewer keyboard hooks.  Is that Carone’s influence?  Whatever the case, he’s been a crucial member ever since, providing far more than just keys.

My history of the band is brief.  I loved their 2012 single “Whistleblower”, and 2014’s “Leather Jacket” even more.  But what really made the band stick out in my mind was watching the NHL Awards one night with Jen, when Max Kerman shook hands with #99 Wayne Gretzky himself.  Seeing a gleeful Max lose his shit in front of Gretzky just made me fall in love with this band.

Kerman managing to keep his shit together on national TV with The Great One

In spring 2023, I had a craving:  a craving for something upbeat, positive, deep, and Canadian.  I put on High Noon one day in May and I have not looked back since.

Up first is “Fake Money”.  In 2014, Kerman was clearly pissed off about the banking crisis.  “Oh you’re just a boy, a little banker boy, everything’s a game and everyone’s your toy…”  It’s a pretty scathing attack, but within the confines of an upbeat, powerful song akin to old-school U2.  There’s a chunky bass hook that sounds like “Where The Streets Have No Name”.  But this song is its own beast, a ferocious indictment set to an anthemic singalong.  “You’re playing a board game, up in a board room…”  Max studied poli-sci in school, and it definitely comes out in his words.

Just as I think of U2 on “Fake Money”, I think of 80s Bowie on “Come to Light”.  “Modern Love” kinda Bowie.  There’s some 80’s Elton John in the piano too.  This was the first of four singles.  The of mix of Kerman and DeAngelis’ vocals on the chorus is so satisfying.  Then the band comes in with those “ooh, la la’s” that are so tasty.  And Oxford?  Brilliant on this.  The single cymbal crash when Kerman sings “The words hit me hard, like a one-two punch” is just so perfect.

Another brilliant song called “Cynical Bastards” is surprisingly upbeat considering the title!  The piano and keys deliver the main hooks here, full of the glow of summer.  Max references “Jackson Square dropouts avoiding police” in the opening lyrics.  Oxford keeps the snare pumping, with Dika thumping the bass by his side, and Max sings the indelible chorus:  “If you want me to boil it down, all you cynical bastards move right out of town now!”  What I like most are the references to living in the golden horseshoe of southern Ontario.  “Oakville moms, they stick up their nose, and those Burlington dads keep their daughters at home.”  I wouldn’t know about that, but I worked in both towns.

Have you ever heard about that superstition that you’re supposed to make a wish when the clock shows 11:11?  Arkells wrote a song about it.  “You made a wish at 11:11, I held your hips at 12:34,” goes the fabulous chorus.  One gets the impression that Kerman has danced with a lot of girls over the years.  This song is a bit slower and more contemplative, but not without those awesome Mike/Max harmonies, and massive choruses.  More “woah, ohs” and I’m fine with all that.

Dika’s bass is a major component of the ballad “Never Thought That This Would Happen”.  I really like what I said about this song in my “Just Listening To” post, so I’ll go ahead and quote myself:   “‘Never Thought That This Would Happen’ is one of most poetic yet colloquial songs about a one-nighter that I’ve ever heard.”  It’s also the only song on the album that exceeds four minutes.  There’s a great string arrangement by Carone, and a really impassioned lead vocal from Max.

We go back to the 80s on “Dirty Blonde”, which is just a catchy pop rock tune.  Nothing wrong with that at all.   It’s fast, and you can dance to it.  (Personally I prefer playing air bass.)  This is as close as we get to a throwaway on the album, yet it’s awesome.

“What Are You Holding On To?” opens the second side on the vinyl version.  Jen likes the Dirty Dancing reference, “You put Baby in a corner, we’ll be Dirty Dancing all night…”  Once again we’re stuck in the 80s, and we’re definitely at a party.  If you still wanted to dance, but needed something that isn’t as fast as “Dirty Blonde”, then here’s your ticket.  Horn section arranged by Carone.  Horns have become more and more integral to the Arkells sound over the years since.

Piano takes the fore on “Hey Kids!” which sounds like a band jamming in a bar.  It has that vibe, but much cleaner and tighter.  The “Ooh, ooh ooh’s” return, and Max even sings my name in one of the lyrics.  The strings return to augment the sound, and you can’t ignore the backing vocals of the band, always there in all the right places.

The “big single” was the infallible “Leather Jacket”.  This is the one that people remember for the line about the pay phone:  “You call me up from a pay phone, and I said, ‘Who the fuck uses a pay phone?'”  An instant favourite, impossible to forget, and really indicative of everything that makes the Arkells great.  The 80s influence in there is the guitar hook.  The lyrics are relatable.  The chorus is fused into your neurons after one listen.  Oxford’s drum part is integral to the song, as is Dika’s bassline.  If there was just one song I’d play to get someone into the Arkells, it would be “Leather Jacket”.

There are a lot of fast tunes on High Noon, but “Crawling Through the Window” is one of the coolest slow songs I’ve ever heard.  There’s a digital pulse, and nice chunky guitar chords, employed sparingly in the back.  Oxford’s snare drum is nice and loud, like he’s leading the procession.  Max’s lyrics are once again relatable.  “We bunkered down in this shitty apartment, utilities included, all that we wanted.”

The dance rock of “Systematic” ends the album on a surprising note.  It’s unlike any of the previous songs, demonstrating that the Arkells are willing to sample the flavours of every section in the record store.  This is something they have embraced further and further down in their discography.  “Systematic” has a dark vibe, but the Arkells tend to go for unusual closers.  It’s no less catchy, and the strings return for a cool disco effect.  Now that I think of it, this really sounds like the Arkells version of Dynasty-era Kiss!

Why does this album sound so good?  Mastering engineer – Harry Hess!  The album was produced and mixed by Tony Hoffer.

There are two added bonus tracks on iTunes, both acoustic versions of the album tracks.  “11:11” is stripped down, and shows that the song still has all its strength even without all the bells and whistles.  It really allows the vocals to come out more, both lead and backing.  “What Are You Holding On To?” is the second acoustic bonus track.  It has a lot more bop here, as it’s basically just piano and vocals in this arrangement.

When I reviewed this album the first time, I rated it 4.5/5 stars.  Not bad.  But wrong.

5/5 stars

 

REVIEW: Arkells – Laundry Pile (2023)

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

REVIEW: Arkells – “Ticats are Hummin'” (2012 iTunes single)

ARKELLS – “Ticats are Hummin'” (2012 iTunes single)

Disclaimer #1:  I hate all sports.

Disclaimer #2:  Of all the sports, I hate football the most.

I do love the Arkells, and for them, I’ll download a song about football, and dang it, I’ll even enjoy it.

“Ticats are Hummin'” is a tribute to the Arkells home team, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.  They have a rivalry with the Toronto Argonauts.  And that’s about all I can tell you about the Ticats.  I do like this song.  Alot!  It is a bright, boppy and upbeat tune with a guitar and piano delivering the main musical hooks.  Of course, there are plenty of those patented “woah, oh oh!” vocals that Arkells fans adore.

Saw some old friends,
From down in T.O.,
But old Queen Lizzy,
Will take them back home!

They look so sad,
At the end of the night,
Blown out like Pink Floyd back in ’75!

“Queen Lizzy” refers to the Q.E.W. – the Queen Elizabeth Way, a major highway connecting Toronto and Hamilton.  I sometimes wonder if the Arkells staunch commitment to local references in their lyrics has held them back from international success.  I think these references only enrich the music and add to their down-home vibe.

“Ticats are Hummin'” would have been one of the band’s first recordings with new keyboardist Anthony Carone.  It preceded their excellent High Noon album by a couple years, but you can hear elements of where they were going, with the indelible pop melodies.

This track was released to iTunes with proceeds going to the Boys and Girls Club of Hamilton.  It also received a physical release, on a rare 2 CD compilation called Everybody Dance Now – Songs From Hamilton, Volume 8.  Be on the hunt.

5/5 stars

Just Listening to…Arkells – High Noon (2014)

When I reviewed this album six years ago, I rated it 4.5/5 stars.  For whatever reason, I’ve been playing this a lot over the last two weeks.  Like a lot lot.  Today I’d give it a solid 5/5.  High Noon by the Arkells has reached that upper echelon of albums that somehow, someway, have become so important to me that losing this album would be like losing an arm.  It’s in my soul now.  It’s part of me.  That’s not easy to do, especially for newer music.

I love the spirit.  The defiance.  The anger!  “Oh you’re just a boy, a little banker boy, everything’s a game and everyone’s your toy…”  A pretty scathing indictment of the wealthy who prey on the vulnerable, a practice which singer Max Kerman refers to as “Fake Money”.  It’s so upbeat that you don’t pick up on the anger until you actually listen to the words.  But when you do?  Hooboy!  Though the song sounds like a celebration, the lyrics cut like razors.

Then there’s the very-80’s “Come To Light”, a brilliant rock song with a Bowie beat.  There’s a tension built from synth and drums.  Then the piano delivers those hooks!  Kerman’s vocals are as impassioned as ever (“Impassioned” being his middle name, according to some reports).   Virtually every song could be a single, and this one was the first of four.  Another simply superior upbeat celebration follows, called “Cynical Bastards”.  You have to love that title!  Once again the keys are the dominant hook-deliverer, though the chorus itself is pretty damn awesome.  Even the lyrics are catchy!  “If the 80s were tough, the 90s were mean!”

Another serious favourite is track #4:  “11:11”.  You ever heard about that superstition that you’re supposed to make a wish when the clock shows 11:11?  A slower, more contemplative song, this beauty is all about meeting a sweetie at a bar.  “You made a wish at 11:11, I held your hips at 12:34,” goes the fabulous chorus.  “There was a kiss just waiting to happen, a cab was waiting just outside the door.”  A slower but still bright number called “Never Thought That This Would Happen” is one of most poetic yet colloquial songs about a one-nighter that I’ve ever heard.  “And I never thought that this would happen, and you got all weird after the weekend.  Sometimes you make out with an old friend, and I’m rounding first and I’m sliding into second…”  It’s also the only song on the album that exceeds four minutes.

Sometimes I wonder if these girls that Kerman is singing about know the songs are about them.

“Dirty Blonde” is another very 80s upbeat rocker, very much like 80s Elton John, but harder.  Just as many hooks though!  “What Are You Holding On To?” has a completely different vibe, happy and danceable.  This is followed by the uber-catchy “Hey Kids!” and the single “Leather Jacket”.  “Leather Jacket” is one that strikes home lyrically in many ways.  “You call me up from a pay phone, I say hang tight I can drive you home.”  Been there done that!  But my favourite line?  “You call me up from a pay phone, and I said, ‘Who the fuck uses a pay phone?'”  Regardless, “Leather Jacket” is instantaneous, flawless and passionate.

Just two more songs remain in this journey.  “Crawling Through the Window” slows things down to a strong digital pulse, with dark chords backing it.  Brilliant lyrics here describing a shitty old apartment.  “There were carpets in the bathroom, man, what the fuck’s a vacuum?”  Again it sounds like there’s a real story here.  Finally the dance rock of “Systematic” ends the album on a surprising, but no less catchy note.

Mastering engineer – Harry Hess!  By all means, get this album.  Get it.  Play it.  Play it again.  Fall in love.  I did.