Kick IIII
Kick IIII | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 2 December 2021 | |||
Recorded | 2018–2021 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 36:38 | |||
Language |
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Label | XL | |||
Producer | Arca | |||
Arca chronology | ||||
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Singles from Kick IIII | ||||
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Kick IIII (stylized as kick iiii) is the seventh studio album by Venezuelan record producer and singer Arca. The album was scheduled to be released on 3 December 2021, but released early on 2 December 2021, through XL Recordings as a continuation to her 2021 record Kick III, and is the fourth entry in the Kick quintet.[2] Kick IIII was supported by the accompanying lead single "Queer" featuring Planningtorock, and features cellist Oliver Coates, Garbage frontwoman Shirley Manson, Planningtorock, as well as production from Cardopusher.
Background
[edit]Upon the release of Kick I, news surfaced that Arca would be releasing three more Kick albums to make a tetralogy. The artist took to Pitchfork to say: "There will be four volumes. The third one is a little bit more introverted than Kick I, a little bit more like my self-titled album, I guess. The fourth one is piano only, no vocals. Right now, the least defined one, strangely, is the third one. It's all gestating right now [...] Each Kick exists in a kind of quantum state until the day that I send it to mastering. I try to not commit until I have to. But I have a vision for it. The second one is heavy on backbeats, vocal manipulation, mania, and craziness."[3]
In the following year, Arca released her extended play Madre and took part in Dawn of Chromatica, a remix album by Lady Gaga, where she remixed the Ariana Grande collaboration "Rain on Me".[4] While talking about the song on social media, Arca stated: "It's also the last time I playfully deconstruct my songs 'Time' and 'Mequetrefe', as we say goodbye to the Kick I era and move into the Kick II era and beyond".[5] Kick IIII was announced on November 18, alongside the release of the lead single "Queer" featuring vocals from English musician planningtorock.[6] Arca described the album as "entry of sensual charge in the cycle; my own faith made into song, a posthuman celestial sparkle, psychosexual pulsewidth modulation, queering the void, abyss alchemically transmuted into a deconstruction of what is beautiful, it is a healing spell, recognition of the alien inside, a bursting apart of old skin, fresh new sinew rippling outward from a beating core, the first prenatal kick—proof that there is a sentience with a will beyond its creators’ control expressing itself from within the womb."[7]
Critical reception
[edit]![]() | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2022) |
Aggregate scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 77/100[8] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The A.V. Club | B−[10] |
Evening Standard | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Exclaim! | 8/10[12] |
The Guardian | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Line of Best Fit | 8/10[14] |
Loud and Quiet | 8/10[15] |
NME | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Pitchfork | 7.7/10[17] |
The Skinny | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
On review aggregate site Metacritic, Kick IIII received a score of 77 out of 100, based on reviews from 13 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[8]
Track listing
[edit]All tracks written and produced by Arca, unless noted otherwise.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Whoresong" | 2:14 | ||
2. | "Esuna" (featuring Oliver Coates) |
| 2:19 | |
3. | "Xenomorphgirl" | 2:55 | ||
4. | "Queer" (featuring Planningtorock) |
|
| 3:30 |
5. | "Witch" (featuring No Bra) |
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| 3:32 |
6. | "Hija" (transl. Daughter) | 2:45 | ||
7. | "Boquifloja" (transl. Slackmouth) | 5:22 | ||
8. | "Alien Inside" (featuring Shirley Manson) |
| 2:04 | |
9. | "Altar" | 3:37 | ||
10. | "Lost Woman Found" | 4:12 | ||
11. | "Paw" | 4:08 | ||
Total length: | 36:38 |
Interpolates
- "Alien Inside" contains interpolation of previous Arca track: "Construct" from the mixtape "@@@@@".
References
[edit]- ^ DuBois, Aymeric (6 December 2021). "Arca: Kick ii/iii/iiii/iiiii". Spectrum Culture. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
- ^ @MutantFaith (June 6, 2021). "Arca explaining how the finalized version of kIcK ii has significant differences from the currently circulating fan-made compilation, and confirming a FIFTH Kick installment 🖤🩸❕" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Live From Quarantine, It's the Arca Show". Pitchfork. 20 May 2020. Retrieved 2021-10-04.
- ^ "Lady Gaga's 'Chromatica' Remix Album Unlocks The Thrilling Potential Of The Original". Junkee. 2021-09-07. Retrieved 2021-10-04.
- ^ Arca, Doña (September 3, 2021). "@arca1000000: "It's also the last time I playfully deconstruct my songs Time and Mequetrefe as we say goodbye to the KiCk i era and move into the kIcK ii era and beyond"". Twitter. Retrieved October 4, 2021.
- ^ "Arca Announces New Album kick iiii, Shares New Song "Queer": Listen". Pitchfork. 2021-11-18. Retrieved 2021-11-28.
- ^ "Listen to Arca's glitchy new track 'Queer' featuring Planningtorock". NME. 2021-11-21. Retrieved 2021-11-28.
- ^ a b "kick iiii by Arca Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
- ^ Phares, Heather. "kick iiii - Arca". Allmusic. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
- ^ Freedman, Max (3 December 2021). "Avant-pop artist Arca undercuts her musical impact by piling on too much at once". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 3 December 2021.[dead link]
- ^ Smyth, David (3 December 2021). "Arca - KiCk ii/iii/iiii/iiiii review: 47 tracks of wild electronic experimentation". Evening Standard. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
- ^ Hopfe, Safiya (3 December 2021). "Arca's 'KICK' Cycle Is an Explosive Exploration of Her Multidimensionality". Exclaim!. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
- ^ Petritis, Alex (3 December 2021). "Arca: Kick ii, iii, iiii, iiiii review – a wild ride to the dark, daring side of pop". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
- ^ Dziri, Red (3 December 2021). "Arca unleashes her daring mutant universe in the completed KICK anthology". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
- ^ Butchard, Skye (3 December 2021). "Arca - KICK (ii-iiiii) Album Review". Loud & Quiet. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
- ^ Hunt, El (3 December 2021). "Arca – 'Kick ii', 'Kick iii', 'Kick iiii' & 'Kick 'iiiii' review: a sprawling departure from definition". NME. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
- ^ Sherburne, Philip (7 December 2021). "Arca album reviews: KICK ii/KicK iii/kick iiii/kiCK iiiii". Pitchfork. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
- ^ Wade, Lewis (3 December 2021). "Arca album reviews: Kick ii - iiiii". The Skiinny. Retrieved 3 December 2021.