Fresh off soundtracking the Beijing Olympics Closing Ceremony film, your friendly neighbourhood Hamilton-bred Arkells are back with new single "Reckoning" — the first taste of a forthcoming companion album to 2021's Blink Once.
While there's no official release date for Blink Twice yet, it's due sometime before the end of 2022 (isn't that some satisfying symmetry?) And it's literally been years in the making: the title of the band's most recent, newly Juno-nominated record was actually born out of "Reckoning," and its lyrical refrain, "Blink twice, there's gonna be a reckoning."
"If you listen to the outro track of Blink Once, 'Last Night I Heard 'Em Sing,' we hint that there's more coming," bandleader Max Kerman said in a release. "[It's] kind of like a post-credits scene in a movie. 'Reckoning' is the beginning of what's next."
Of the new single, he added:
The song is about privileged people who bury their heads in the sand. It's also about the admiration for those who lead by example, and want justice for people beyond their own kin. We wanted the song to be big and cinematic — something that felt like walking through the streets at night time. We were inspired by everything from Justice to Run the Jewels. At this point in our career as musicians, we only wanna go where inspiration takes us.
Decidedly a combination eat-the-rich anthem and spelling lesson, Arkells are ready to take you to school with this one — melding their signature triumphant, horn-heavy clap-alongs and evident hip-hop metrical influences with menacing, grandiose strings.
Watch the video for "Reckoning" below.
Fans can look forward to hearing this new song — and potentially others? — starting next month on Arkells' rescheduled Canadian tour dates.
While there's no official release date for Blink Twice yet, it's due sometime before the end of 2022 (isn't that some satisfying symmetry?) And it's literally been years in the making: the title of the band's most recent, newly Juno-nominated record was actually born out of "Reckoning," and its lyrical refrain, "Blink twice, there's gonna be a reckoning."
"If you listen to the outro track of Blink Once, 'Last Night I Heard 'Em Sing,' we hint that there's more coming," bandleader Max Kerman said in a release. "[It's] kind of like a post-credits scene in a movie. 'Reckoning' is the beginning of what's next."
Of the new single, he added:
The song is about privileged people who bury their heads in the sand. It's also about the admiration for those who lead by example, and want justice for people beyond their own kin. We wanted the song to be big and cinematic — something that felt like walking through the streets at night time. We were inspired by everything from Justice to Run the Jewels. At this point in our career as musicians, we only wanna go where inspiration takes us.
Decidedly a combination eat-the-rich anthem and spelling lesson, Arkells are ready to take you to school with this one — melding their signature triumphant, horn-heavy clap-alongs and evident hip-hop metrical influences with menacing, grandiose strings.
Watch the video for "Reckoning" below.
Fans can look forward to hearing this new song — and potentially others? — starting next month on Arkells' rescheduled Canadian tour dates.
