Arkells: Michigan Left

Michigan Left, the second album from Arkells, is a lot easier for me to love than their first. I reviewed that one, Jackson Square, early on in the site's life, saying that I loved a lot of the songs on it, but a number of the songs were skippable to me, including "Pulling Punches" which was a radio hit before I ever picked up the album. At the time, I was experimenting with how much negativity I wanted to include in my reviews, because although I was being honest, I was also nitpicking some. Even the songs I didn't like on that album had their virtues, they just weren't ones that resonated with me. I hope you bought it. "John Lennon" is a particularly excellent song, as are all the highlights from that one.

The good news about Michigan Left is that it's a better album. Maybe the best moments aren't as brilliant, and it doesn't give as broad a view of their abilities, but it's an excellent set of songs from head to toe. On this album, the band fulfills their promise of "black and blue eyed soul" by infusing their sound with a easygoing beat and a heavy stomp. Most of the songs are actually based more around bass riffs and drumbeats, accentuated (rather than led) by by the pianos and guitars. That's not to say they're not there, and not well used... there's a subtlety to the sound that is really welcoming and invites repeated listens, usually a simple ringing and progression splashing in and out, swirling around the vocals. It makes the album into good white-boy soul, a guarded sincerity not usually executed in radio rock these days. It helps that Max Kerman has a good basic voice: he doesn't strain his boundaries too much, but he forms a good foundation, with those drums and bass, on tracks like "Book Club," "Where U Goin" (with its neat call-and answer lyric that laps itself.) The album is loaded with great hooky choruses, including the title track's "Decorations will be wasted..." bit. Just about every track offers similar pleasure: "Kiss Cam" and "Bloodlines" feature sing-along choruses, matching sprightly melodies with reflective or weighty content. This is coffee-house sized stadium rock. Intimate yet huge.

Occasionally, they even go big, with the moody quiet-loud of "One Foot Out The Door" and the fiery loud-loud of "Whistleblower," which are standout tracks stylistically. The album concludes with a warm, soft-focus tune called "Agent Zero," suggesting we all "turn the lights down low, turn the lights down low." Quite nice.

My favourite tracks are "Coffee" and "On Paper." "Coffee" has a whole lowdown dark Film Noir feel. It begins with a stuttering guitar intro, which takes A Flock of Seagulls' "I Ran" and wrings it for all it's worth. "On Paper," in addition to having one of those great hooky refrains ("I can't keep up, always playing catchup...") exemplifies one of the best aspects of the band, going back to their first album: their songwriting. They're not just capable of writing damn catchy hooks or measuring and balancing all the different instruments to make an effective sonic experience. They also craft great stories, usually by way of setting a scene, outlining specific characters, moods, and problems without seeming like they are too wrapped up in telling a story to forgo the formal framework of their songs: Kerman's vocal performance goes a long way to helping this.

In essence, what I'm saying is that Arkells have it all on this album. It sounds good, it makes you feel good, and it feels like a real accomplishment for the group. It's a great rock and roll album for people that have lost faith that there's anything left to do in rock and roll.

Buy this album now: Itunes Canada // Amazon.com
// Amazon.ca