THE AR-KAICS – s/t (10 years edition)

Repress of 200 copies – “Anniversary Edition” with golden sticker on the shrinkwrap

Richmond, Virginia’s The Ar-Kaics play a nai?ve brand of punk music in the tradition of American Teen Beat and amateur garage circa 1965 – or ’66, at the latest. Ask a band member, however, and they’re quick to describe the sound as “a wild ass ride.” On this self-titled debut LP they’ve traversed the muck and climbed out of the ooze, to walk pointedly upright on their own eight feet. Like all the dilettante Stones and Jr. Beatles before them, hammering away on department store instruments in their parents’ garage, The Ar-Kaics are one with their inner troglodyte child (hear: BACK FROM THE GRAVE, PEBBLES, TEENAGE SHUTDOWN et al. comps), showcasing a wealth of irresistibly simple hooks, fuzzy strut and primal swagger. Lucky for you this sound is NOW!!!! After a slew of singles on labels like NORTON, MARKET SQUARE, STEADY SOUNDS, The Ar-Kaics offer us a proper album’s worth of thirteen A-Side originals; snottier (“No, No, No”); lonelier (“This Time Tonight”); darker (“Be My Baby”); rawer (“Can’t Keep Waiting”) than any critic or casual listener could have forecast. Recorded remotely during a weekend in the woods at Rag’s BB&R by Jeff Kane, the band had little contact with the outside world (apart from beer runs to the nearest gas station and late night screenings of Major League and Grumpy Old Men). What you get is an album in the true sense, ranging from ragers to moody ballads and back again, without a snoozer in the bunch. R. K. Vondopolis Roanoke, VA