Hailed by The Globe and Mail as “the right kind of band for this decade,” Arkells are widely considered one of the most passionate, exuberant and in-demand live bands working today. As radio mainstays, sports-sync shoe-ins and curious students of culture, Arkells have remained ever present – building awareness and personal community experiences around their live shows and new music at every turn. The most emblematic example of this being The Rally, Arkells' beloved hometown concert event that’s been hailed as one of the biggest headline shows in the country, with record breaking attendance. Arkells continue to release new music and international tour dates.
Arkells’ singles “Skin” and title track “Laundry Pile” from the band’s forthcoming album of the same name (slated for September 21st) arrive via Virgin Music.
There’s been no shortage of new music from Arkells over the last two years, having released their Blink Once and Blink Twice projects, featuring collaborations with the likes of Cold War Kids, K.Flay, Tegan and Sara, Aly & AJ and Wesley Schultz of The Lumineers, ahead of the introduction to brand new album, Laundry Pile.
What became Laundry Pile caught the band by surprise, as they weren’t actively planning the next record to come this quickly. Much of Arkells’ most recognizable material aims to be spirited and anthemic, but this collection of songs are more personal, pensive, and reserved. It’s the kind of album that is one cohesive listening experience - in keeping with the spirit of the classic singer-songwriter tradition.
The project took shape earlier this year. Arkells got together with a goal to work on acoustic renditions of recent material, jam and hang out, but very quickly started ruminating on other little ideas. “I brought in some demos I had been working on - they were little conversations with myself,” continues Kerman. “I had no expectations to do anything with the material, but then the band came to the rescue. It was very all-hands-on-deck. The more we meditated on the music, the more connected we became to the songs and to each other. It was one of the most deeply creative experiences we’ve had as a band so far. It’s important to simply honour the moment you’re in, and that’s what we did.”