Kick II
Studio album by
Arca
Released30 November 2021
Recorded2018–2021
Genre
Length33:56
Language
  • Spanish
  • English
LabelXL
ProducerArca
Arca chronology
Madre
(2021)		 Kick II
(2021)		 Kick III
(2021)
Singles from Kick II
  1. "Born Yesterday"
    Released: 4 October 2021
  2. "Prada" / "Rakata"
    Released: 3 November 2021

Kick II (stylized as KICK ii; pronounced “kick two”) is the fifth studio album by Venezuelan record producer and singer Arca. The album was scheduled to be released on 3 December 2021, but released early on 30 November 2021, through XL Recordings as a continuation to her[lower-alpha 1] 2020 record Kick I, and is the second entry in Kick quintet.[1] Kick II was supported by three singles: "Born Yesterday", featuring vocals by Australian musician Sia,[2] as well as "Prada" and "Rakata", released as a double single. Its cover art was photographed by Frederik Heyman.[3] The album received positive reviews and was nominated for the Libera Award for Best Latin Album and the Latin Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album.[4][5]

Background

Upon the release of Kick I, news surfaced that Arca would be releasing two more Kick albums to make a trilogy. 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."[6]

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".[7] 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".[8] On September 27, the producer released a new song, "Incendio" to critical acclaim.[9][10] A week later, she revealed the release date, tracklist and cover art of her upcoming album Kick II alongside its lead single, "Born Yesterday" featuring Sia.[11]

With Kick IIII's announcement, Arca confirmed Kick II's sonic palette would be "a deconstruction and reinterpretation of reggaeton".[12]

Composition

Kick II is primarily an electronic,[13] experimental,[14] avant-garde,[15] reggaeton,[16] pop[14] and cumbia[17] album. Album opener "Doña" features "eerie looping vocal mantras and squelching samples" and is "intentionally loose and disorienting, so when that familiar dembow rhythm locks in on the following track, the hypnotic pull is felt instantly".[18] "Prada" and "Luna Llena" features "dreamy atmospheres float[ing] behind the driving rhythms" and garnered comparisons to Arca's 2017 self-titled album.[19] The later track turns its "blurry, fuzzy synths, compressed reggaeton bump, and Ghersi's slow-pouring contralto resemble pining distilled into sound, and the titular image of a full moon feels similarly romantic".[20] "Araña" is a deconstructed club[14] track that "wiggles and crashes like a toy robot going haywire"[19] and "invites listeners to tune into something resembling the soundtrack to a video game gone wrong".[15] "Muñecas" is a "a haunting collage featuring contributions from Mica Levi".[19] "Born Yesterday" is a pop power ballad whose "eerie otherworldly musings are subdued by a hypnotic dancefloor beat on the cusp of dissolution".[15]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic76/100[21]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[19]
The A.V. ClubB−[20]
Evening Standard[22]
Exclaim!8/10[15]
The Guardian[23]
The Line of Best Fit8/10[14]
Loud and Quiet8/10[18]
NME[24]
Pitchfork7.4/10[25]
The Skinny[26]

On review aggregate site Metacritic, Kick II received a score of 76 out of 100, based on reviews from 14 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[21] Safiya Hopfe, writing for Exclaim! praised the albums hooks, saying "even at her most accessible, Arca refuses to paint from a predictable palette. But for all her experimentation and chaotic tangents, it is clear in Kick II that she is acutely aware of the balance necessary to build a bop."[15] Evening Standard's David Smyth considered Kick II the "most complete experience as a single album" out of the entire quintet.[22] Conversely, Lewis Wade of The Skinny called it "some of the least interesting music of the whole collection" and said that if the album was "more avant-garde, or more ephemeral, it may have worked better, but it doesn't hit with the intensity it should".[26]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Doña" (transl. "Mrs.")Alejandra GhersiArca1:46
2."Prada"
  • Ghersi
  • Cardopusher
  • Arca
  • Cardopusher
2:43
3."Rakata"
  • Ghersi
  • Cardopusher
  • Arca
  • Cardopusher
2:31
4."Tiro" (transl. "Shot")
  • Arca
  • Boys Noize
  • Cardopusher
2:18
5."Luna Llena" (transl. "Full Moon")Ghersi
3:19
6."Lethargy"GhersiArca2:07
7."Araña" (transl. "Spider")GhersiArca4:17
8."Femme"GhersiArca1:42
9."Muñecas" (transl. "Dolls")
  • Arca
  • Levi
3:33
10."Confianza" (transl. "Confidence")
  • Arca
  • Cardopusher
  • Clark
1:47
11."Born Yesterday" (featuring Sia)
  • Ghersi
  • Jmike
  • Sia
  • Arca
  • Jmike
3:18
12."Andro"GhersiArca4:35
Total length:33:56

Release history

List of release dates, showing region, format(s), label(s) and reference(s)
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
Various December 3, 2021 XL [27]

Charts

Chart performance for Kick II
Chart (2022) Peak
position
UK Independent Album Breakers (Official Charts Company)[28] 16
US Current Album Sales (Billboard)[29] 83

Notes

  1. ↑ Arca uses she/her, it/its and they/them pronouns. This article uses she/her pronouns for consistency.

References

  1. ↑ @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.
  2. ↑ Paul, Larisha (2021-10-04). "Arca Announces New Album With Lip-Synced Video for 'Born Yesterday,' Featuring Sia". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2021-10-04.
  3. ↑ "Conoce a Frederik Heyman, el artista que creó el mundo futurista del nuevo single de Arca". MOR.BO (in Spanish). 2020-02-21. Retrieved 2021-10-04.
  4. ↑ Aswad, Jem (March 23, 2022). "Japanese Breakfast, Jason Isbell, Arlo Parks Lead Indie-Music Collective A2IM's 2022 Libera Awards Nominees". Variety. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  5. ↑ "23rd Annual Latin GRAMMY Awards Final Nominations" (PDF). The Latin Recording Academy. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 23, 2022. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
  6. ↑ "Live From Quarantine, It's the Arca Show". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2021-10-04.
  7. ↑ "Lady Gaga's 'Chromatica' Remix Album Unlocks The Thrilling Potential Of The Original". Junkee. 2021-09-07. Retrieved 2021-10-04.
  8. ↑ 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.
  9. ↑ "Listen to Arca's entrancing new single 'Incendio'". NME. 2021-09-28. Retrieved 2021-10-04.
  10. ↑ "Arca Shares New Song "Incendio," Announces Charity Concert Film". Pitchfork. 2021-09-27. Retrieved 2021-10-04.
  11. ↑ "Arca Announces New Album KICK ii, Shares Video for New Song with Sia". Pitchfork. 2021-10-04. Retrieved 2021-10-04.
  12. ↑ "Arca 'Queers the Void' With New Album 'Kick iiii'". Rolling Stone. 2021-11-18. Retrieved 2021-11-29.
  13. ↑ Rettig, James (30 November 2021). "Album Of The Week: Arca KicK iii". Stereogum. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  14. 1 2 3 4 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.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 Hopfe, Safiya (3 December 2021). "Arca's 'KICK' Cycle Is an Explosive Exploration of Her Multidimensionality". Exclaim!. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  16. ↑ Lopez, Julyssa (17 November 2021). "Arca 'Queers the Void' With New Album 'Kick iiii'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  17. ↑ Muggs, Joe (27 November 2021). "Album: Arca - KICK ii / KICK iii / KICK iiii". Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  18. 1 2 Butchard, Skye (3 December 2021). "Arca - KICK (ii-iiiii) Album Review". Loud & Quiet. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  19. 1 2 3 4 Phares, Heather. "Kick II by Arca". Allmusic. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  20. 1 2 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.
  21. 1 2 "Kick ii by Arca Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  22. 1 2 Smyth, David (3 December 2021). "Arca - KiCk ii/iii/iiii/iiiii review: 47 tracks of wild electronic experimentation". Evening Standard. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  23. ↑ 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.
  24. ↑ 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.
  25. ↑ Sherburne, Philip (7 December 2021). "Arca album reviews: KICK ii/KicK iii/kick iiii/kiCK iiiii". Pitchfork. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
  26. 1 2 Wade, Lewis (3 December 2021). "Arca album reviews: Kick ii - iiiii". The Skiinny. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  27. ↑ "Arca anuncia los detalles de 'KICK ii', su nuevo disco". Dod Magazine (in Spanish). 2021-10-04. Retrieved 2021-10-04.
  28. ↑ "Official Independent Album Breakers Chart Top 20 – 27 May 2020". Official Charts. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  29. ↑ "Arca Chart History (Current Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
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