After that, Arkells just popped up everywhere! A couple weeks later, I got a SnapChat from my friend from university, posing with lead singer Max Kerman at their Calgary show. Someone I knew in high school posted a picture to say she was listening to them. They're everywhere. Granted, I was pretty stuck in my own little slice of the world this past school year, so I'm going to forgive myself for not knowing about them earlier.
My favourite shows are the ones where you're hardly even focusing in just the music; the kind of experience where it's more just an outdoor dance party than a concert; where the fun and energy is what you care about far more than whether every note is right (that's not to say that anything is wrong with the music - you're just not paying attention to that). The show I saw was exactly that. Max Kerman was hardly ever NOT jumping around, they coerced their piano player to play an awesome solo (and had some adorable almost-choreography going on while he did), and even got Jian Gomeshi to come out and sing with them! Add to that their super-pumped beats, and everyone had a great time the whole way through. The best part is that that energy and fun is noticeable in their recorded music as well, even though it's just you and some speakers. I mean, it's not quite (but almost) dance music, but you just have a good time.
Speaking of recorded music, they just released their new album High Noon. Personally, I still prefer their first one, Michigan Left, although that might just be because it takes me a really long time and a lot of listens to really get into any whole album. What I did notice, though, is that the songs in High Noon sound a lot more like what the band sounds like live, which in my book is a cool thing. Especially Fake Money, the first track, sounds practically straight off a stage.
All in all, High Noon keeps all the good things about their overall sound, while still changing it up by trying some different feels and tricks throughout.
No comments:
Post a Comment