Iconic Hamilton band Arkells will jam at local laundromat to celebrate new album
Published September 21, 2023 at 1:35 pm
An iconic Hamilton band will visit a local laundromat tomorrow for three hours of “tunes and stories and hellos.”
Alternative rock band Arkells are inviting fans to hang out with them at Splash Laundry at 1143 Main St. E. in Hamilton on Friday, Sept. 22 in celebration of their new album’s release. The pop-up event will run from noon to 3 p.m. Fans who buy a vinyl or custom tee can watch the band perform their new tunes live.
The Juno winners have released their latest album Laundry Pile today (Sept. 21). The band revealed in media interviews that its new music was about intimate moments and relationships.
Describing it as “a very quiet, introspective record,” Arkells said on X, formerly Twitter, that it’s the type of record to listen to somewhere “very quiet” and they encouraged fans to read the lyrics.
The Arkells pop-up release event will be a “personal fan experience with performance, merch and signed records,” Ashley Poitevin, the band’s manager, told hamilton.insauga.com.
The band said on X it will be three hours of “tunes and stories and hellos.” They will have 500 vinyl records and it will be “first come, first served” until they’re out of stock.
COURTESY OF ARKELLS VIA X
In a Q & A on X, they answered fans’ questions about Laundry Pile. They said the music came about unexpectedly when they were just hanging out at their friend’s place. They wrote the music last fall, recorded it from January to March, and mixed it in April and May.
The Arkells are also touring the United States and Canada. Although they have no upcoming shows for their “At Your Service” Tour in the Hammer, they will be playing Guelph on Nov. 9, St. Catharines on Nov. 10 and Peterborough on Nov. 11.
They describe “Quiet Love,” their new video, as a song “about wanting to have a love back, but it being completely out of your hands” and “a practice in intimacy.”
Fans on X, formerly known as Twitter, gushed over the new album.
Alicia (@whitexsparrows) wrote that she listened to the new album and “tried not to cry for the entire train ride to work.”
“So I almost missed my exit on the highway this morning because I began to cry during @arkellsmusic’s intro of Tango Waltz,” wrote Jenn Minchin (@jnnmnchnxx).
“I was not expecting to get literally sucker punched right in the FEELS!” wrote Sabrina Machado (@brinamachado).
For the third straight time, Arkells won group of the year at the 2023 Juno Awards in March. They have the most wins in that category. The band, which takes its name from a street in west Hamilton, was created in 2006.
