Arkells: Laundry Pile [ARKELLS MUSIC]

Why you'll love it

Laundry Pile swaps the stadium singalongs for acoustic guitars, piano, strings and trumpets, ten songs in about 36 minutes. Max Kerman called it the band's most raw and intimate record yet, and the most cohesive thing they've ever made.

About the album

Arkells have spent most of their career making records for very large rooms, so a quiet one is news. Laundry Pile grew out of the band rehearsing acoustic versions of songs from Blink Once and Blink Twice, and Max Kerman's demos shaped the rest. He compared the result to a journal, a place to put down love, regret and the other untidy bits of life, and said the album is for the sentimental.

The title track came first, a song about the small moments that make a real partnership, and the band debuted it at the Echoplex in Los Angeles in May 2023. "Skin" is a summery, Americana-tinged singalong, "Beginner's Mind" brings in trumpets, "Tango Waltz" adds strings, and "Quiet Love" closes things softly. Anthony Carone's piano and keys sit right at the heart of it, with Mike DeAngelis, Tim Oxford and Nick Dika keeping the playing light.

The band named themselves after Arkell Street in Hamilton's Westdale neighbourhood, near McMaster University, and they've collected Junos for Group of the Year six times since. An album named after a laundry pile is, we feel, the most relatable thing any Juno winner has done.

Also at Kops: more Arkells on vinyl · browse CDN Pop / Rock

Tracklist

Listen

On Arkells Music (cat# 8910488), the 2023 album.